Emotional Intelligence and the Side Effects of Optimism
by albatross9
Summary: It's the start of their fourth year at Greendale, but Jeff is a bit too preoccupied with the secret he and Annie have been keeping to be excited about graduating early. Despite Annie's optimism, Jeff is afraid that if everyone finds out about them that the group will never be the same. Man, it sucks to always be right. Jeff/Annie. Alternate season 4.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So quick note about this story. This was the first fic I ever wrote and I thought it was so awful that it was left to rot on my laptop. One year later, I hit a creative dry spell and revisited it and decided to rewrite it word for word, fixing it as I went. So, knowing that, forgive any moments that seem OOC or any jokes that seem repeated in my other works. I didn't think this thing would see the light of day so I stole from myself, assuming I'd never get caught. After some serious editing I've arrived at a piece that I feel reasonably proud of. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

* * *

1

Jeff sat in his Lexus and drummed his fingers anxiously against his steering wheel. He was parked in the Greendale Community College student lot way too early for his first class. He was supposed to be meeting Annie in the library in fifteen minutes but he was having a hard time making himself get out of his car. He leaned forward, resting his head against the steering wheel, thinking hard about how much he _actually_ needed this semester's worth of credits. After a moment, he blew a breath through his pursed lips. He needed those credits pretty badly. If he didn't screw it up, this would be his last semester at Greendale. His life for the past three years had been almost all consumed with getting this degree and the finish line was in sight. Letting a little anxiety over the study group stand in his way would be the dumbest thing he'd ever done, and he'd done a lot of very stupid things.

Resolved, he shut off the car and got out, kicking the car door shut behind him. He was halfway to the library before he remembered that it was actually quite a lot of anxiety. He kept his eyes down as he walked, his feet automatically routing him in the direction of the study room. He could walk this path blindfolded if he had to. This school was his second home and in years past he had arguably spent more time on campus than he had in his actual place of residence.

He took a deep breath and shoved open the front door of the library and stepped inside. Greendale might be his second home, but it housed his first family, or rather, the family he chose. But, like an actual family, he was sure there were some transgressions that just wouldn't fly.

He nervously peeked through the windows of study room F, half expecting to be met with the judgmental stares of his friends having already figured out his secret, only to find the room mysteriously vacant. He stood up straighter and glanced around.

His phone vibrating drew his attention away from the eerily vacant room. It was like being in the city right before a big storm, too still and quiet. He tore his eyes away from the sight of their empty chairs, focusing on the phone in his hand.

 _Over here._

He looked up from the text, eyes searching until they landed on a woman's face framed in brown. Her big blue eyes sparkled teasingly as she peeked out at him from behind a tall bookshelf tucked into the corner.

His body responded to her presence without his command, relaxing into a sense of ease, his nerves all but forgotten. But of course, he was Jeff Winger, so he theatrically rolled his eyes while half-heartedly trying to control the smile that tugged at his lips. He glanced cautiously over his shoulder once before making his way over to her and ducked behind the shelf.

"Vague much?" he asked, holding up his phone with her ambiguous text message still on display.

Annie reached out and grabbed the front of his sweater, pulling him further back into the recesses of the shelves with a patiently indulgent smile on her lips. "I was trying to be covert."

He willingly submitted to her, allowing himself to be led deeper into their shared hiding place. There wasn't much Annie could do that he _wouldn't_ willingly submit to. Over the years he'd slowly learned to accept that fact, which also happened to be how they'd found themselves in this particular conundrum in the first place. But really, he should have seen this coming. Annie Edison could bring whole cities to their knees if she wanted to. Why should he have thought he would be any different? "Is this supposed to be the start of another Greendale caper for us to team up on?" he joked. "Or has the relationship already gotten so stale that you need to spice things up with made-up espionage?"

"Oh, shut up," she laughed, raising up on tip-toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Good morning, by the way."

He returned her smile, his hands finding her waist and holding her close. "Good morning," he echoed, leaning in for another kiss. "Is this why we're hiding back here? Because I think I'm okay with that."

She giggled against his lips. "I'm being careful," she answered, pulling away just a fraction. "I didn't know what you'd decided. You know, about telling people."

Jeff's smile faltered. Ah. Back to reality. "I don't know," he admitted. He dropped her waist and stepped away, putting distance between them. He suddenly needed the space. He didn't like hiding it any more than she did, but Annie also tended towards naivete when it came to their friends. "They're not going to like this. At all."

"They're our _friends_ ," she said, her voice full of that patented Annie Edison Optimism. "Sure, it might be a bit of a shock at first, but they'll be happy for us."

Jeff glanced away, scrubbing his fingers through the back of his hair. "I wish I had your confidence."

"I don't get why you think they're going to be mad. It's not like we're doing anything wrong."

Jeff pulled a face. "Define wrong. A seventeen-year age gap where the younger party is in her early twenties would be a pretty serious offense to more people than you think," he said, still not quite meeting her eye. "I've got a history, you know. With you and –" he cleared his throat once, quickly, "Others. I'm not worried that they'll be mad at _us_. I'm worried about me. It's _my_ head that's on the chopping block."

Annie sighed. They'd had this same conversation on more than one occasion over the summer and he knew that she was sick of it. She just couldn't fathom the study group turning on him the way that he could. He very much hoped that their relationship would be accepted easily, but he sort of doubted it. Annie, however, was an optimist, through and through.

She watched him thoughtfully for a moment before speaking, "Still leaving it up to you. But I think we should tell them." Jeff only nodded in response.

After another quiet moment, Annie checked her phone and inclined her head towards the study room. "Come on. The others will be waiting."

Jeff pulled himself together and followed her out from behind the shelf, moving in the direction of study room F. Out of habit he stepped forward, reaching the door first to hold it open for her. She smiled up at him as she passed, lightly brushing her fingers against his chest in thanks. He once again tried and failed to control the smile that formed on his lips.

As Annie had predicted, the study group was indeed already assembled, seated in their usual spots around the table. Britta, Troy, Pierce, and Shirley all smiled at them as they entered and called out greetings. Abed, however, watched them carefully, his eyebrows drawn. Jeff felt the hair prick up on the back of his neck but he shrugged it off. Abed was like that sometimes. It probably didn't mean anything.

As they took their seats, Jeff noticed that Britta was wearing her ridiculous non-prescription hipster glasses again. An impish grin worked its way onto his face. Maybe a quick bout of semi-malicious mocking was all he needed to get the world back on track. He opened his mouth to tease her, but Abed interrupted him. "Annie and Jeff are secretly dating," he announced.

Well, shit.

There was a beat of stunned silence then everyone was talking at once.

"Abed!" Annie shouted across the table, looking stunned.

"What are you talking about?" Pierce questioned. "We would know if those two were together!"

"Wait, you were lying to us all summer?" Troy directed at Annie.

"Jeff?" Britta's quiet question cut through the din.

Jeff turned to her and opened his mouth but nothing came out. This was exactly what he had been worried about. This group was incapable of reacting to things like normal people. "We –". And apparently so was he. He could feel the group's eyes on him as he struggled to find his voice. Why was it so hard to just tell them? The cat was out of the bag. Whatever happened now was out of his hands. But he still couldn't get the words to his lips.

"Abed," Shirley said, shifting her attention away from Jeff. "Would you please explain since clearly Jeff won't?"

Annie crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at her roommate. Abed tilted his head slightly, looking at her as he spoke. "Well, you two were spending a lot of time together this summer. More than you usually do."

"That doesn't mean anything," Annie argued.

Abed shook his head. "No, but you hum a lot and make pancakes in the mornings when you're in a relationship and you've been doing that for weeks."

Annie's mouth dropped open. "What –"

"Also," Abed continued, cutting off Annie's response. "You and Jeff both got here early, but you weren't waiting for us in the study room. I saw you hiding behind the bookshelves together and you casually touched him when you walked in." He paused and pointed a finger at Jeff. "And, Jeff didn't deny it."

All eyes were back on Jeff.

"Jeffery," Shirley prompted, her voice stern.

Jeff curled his hands into fists and tried to keep his expression neutral. He looked up at Shirley. "We've been seeing each other all summer," he finally confirmed.

"Jeffery!" Shirley said, her voice angry and disapproving. "I thought you two were over all of this. And why do you keep wanting to mess around with younger women?"

Jeff let out a huff and rolled his eyes. He knew how this must look to everyone else, but it wasn't like that. He wasn't stupid, he knew he had a reputation, but Shirley assuming he was just 'messing around' with Annie made him want to flip the table. They must have their blinders on tighter than his had ever been if they really hadn't seen this coming.

"Makin' your way around the table, huh?" Pierce said with a mix of admiration and annoyance. "Who's next? Shirley or A-bed?"

Jeff grit his teeth, biting back the angry noise that was rising up in his throat. "Just so you're all aware," he said as coolly as he could manage, his eyes sweeping the table, "we're not sleeping together. Way to jump to conclusions." It wasn't any of their business, but if that was their issue then he'd be more than happy to be an open book. There were plenty of reasons for them to be upset about this but her ' _innocence'_ was not one of them.

Britta made a noise of disbelief and Jeff turned on her with his jaw set. He'd never hit a woman before…

"Guys, stop!" Annie slammed her hands on the table, drawing their attention back to her. "This is so stupid. Can't you just be happy for us?"

"Annie!" Jeff interrupted, his temper suddenly boiling to the surface. "Enough with the positivity, okay? You were wrong. Just stop!" He regretted it before he'd even finished speaking. He really hadn't meant to snap like that. He'd just been wound so tight for so long. He looked up at Annie and almost flinched. Her injured expression was like a knife between his ribs. His anger was gone now, disappearing faster than it had come, leaving him deflated. He hadn't meant any of that.

Jeff took a breath to speak, but Troy interrupted. "Woah!" he shouted, cutting off Jeff's apology before he could even begin.

"What's wrong with you?" Shirley hissed at him.

"Watch the tone, Jack Torrence," Pierce threatened.

Okay, that one hit just a little too close to home for him. And it stung even more that it was Pierce who'd said it. This whole situation was going downhill fast which meant one thing: Time to bail. He hated to admit it, but Annie's optimism had started to get to him and now he didn't know what to do.

"Jeff, this isn't right."

Jeff was halfway out of his chair, ready to bolt, when Shirley's words made him freeze. He'd told Annie that this would happen and she hadn't listened. He knew he couldn't have been the only one uncomfortable with this whole thing. But those stupidly beautiful eyes had drawn him in. When the siren that was beckoning you to your end was Annie Edison, fighting it just wasn't an option. He looked up at Shirley, calmly meeting her eye. "At least we can agree on that."

He finished getting to his feet without waiting for a response and shot Annie a quick apologetic look. "I'll see you in class," he murmured before swiftly making his exit. He really needed to be alone.

* * *

"Jeff!" Annie called at his back, getting to her feet as if to follow him. He didn't stop. He either hadn't heard or didn't want to. She hesitated. Obviously, she and Jeff had a lot they needed to talk about, but she had some something she had to take care of first. She turned to glare at her friends. "You guys wouldn't even know how to _pretend_ to be supportive, would you?"

"Uh, we were defending you?" Britta said.

"Well don't!" Annie snapped. "I don't need you to defend me. I can take care of myself!"

"I'm just trying to be on your side!" Britta agued adamantly. "I've been in your shoes. I know what it's like to be attracted to jerks. Maybe it's the bad boy thing, maybe not, but whatever the reason, it's always bad news."

"Dating Jeff is not bad news!"

"'Men are monsters who crave young flesh'. I wonder who I was quoting there?" Britta shot back heatedly.

"Doesn't the age difference bother you?" Troy asked.

Annie shot him an annoyed look. "Does Britta's age bother you?"

"Hey!" Britta interjected but Annie ignored her.

"We're happy together. So why can't you just be happy for us?"

"Remember the monster quote?" Britta asked. "How can you be sure he's not just taking advantage of you?"

Annie had to count to ten before she could speak. "If taking me to dinner and watching stupid movies together is taking advantage, then sure, that's exactly what he's doing."

"Wait," Britta looked confused. "Backtrack. You're really _not_ sleeping together?"

"It's none of your business, but no, we're not!"

"I think what Britta meant," Shirley said, shooting the blonde a look, "Is that your crush on Jeff has been pretty well documented. You guys have a history. One that doesn't exactly show him in the best light. We're just concerned about it."

Annie shook her head. "But that's just how it looks to you guys. That's not how it is for us. Think about it from his perspective."

Everyone but Abed rolled their eyes. He was staring at Annie, his mind whirring. "Jeff's in love with Annie."

The table groaned, but Annie's eyes widened. "In love?" Her voice was quiet, watching Abed carefully. He nodded. She guessed she knew Jeff loved her just like she loved him, but _in_ love was a different thing entirely.

"Whatever, Abed," Britta said, getting to her feet and slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Annie wanted to point out that they'd believed Abed without proof just ten minutes ago, but she couldn't seem to remember how to speak anymore. Her head was still ringing with those two simple words. In love. If Abed had noticed it then it was probably true, which meant there were things think about.

"You coming?"

Annie looked up to find that she was the only one still seated at the table. The rest of her friends had gotten up and were heading for class. Troy stood alone in the doorway waiting for her. She quickly gathered up her books and stuffed them into her backpack before hurrying out the door towards their history class, Troy at her side.

* * *

Troy walked alongside Annie in silence, lost in thought. Finding out that Jeff and Annie were dating had made him irrationally angry and it wasn't entirely about Jeff's outburst. Although that was a good part of it. He was way past any potential crush he'd had brewing for her, so why else would he be so mad? As they neared the classroom he realized that he was mostly upset because she'd hid it from him. He was also mad because as her friend, he wanted her to be happy and he didn't want to see her hurt. But now here he was being the one to do the hurting. That wasn't what he was supposed to do.

"Hey," he said gently, taking Annie's arm and pulling her to a stop outside their classroom. Their friends were already inside. He could feel their eyes on him as they stood in the doorway. Troy nodded in the direction of Jeff's chair. "You sure he's treating you right?"

Annie blinked at him for a moment, like she had been lost in her own head, too. Her eyes followed his gesture and when they landed on Jeff she smiled. "I'm sure," she answered. "You just caught him on a bad day. He makes me happy."

Troy nodded once in resignation. "Alright then. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"What?"

He shrugged. "You're like my little sister or something, Annie. I'm weirdly protective of you. Even if sometimes I don't have a good reason to be. So, sorry I jumped all over Jeff's case this morning. And not that you need it, but you have my blessing or whatever."

Annie's eyes were bright. "You mean it?"

"Well, yeah."

She threw her arms around him. "Thank you!" she said, her voice muffled against the fabric of his shirt.

He smiled despite himself and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. It was impossible to stay mad at Annie, she was just too… Annie. He guessed he couldn't really fault Jeff for wanting to be with her, especially if he was the reason for her smile. "Just tell us next time something big happens, okay?" Troy said, stepping out of their embrace. "Only guilty people hide things. Well, I guess pirates hide treasure – Anyway, we're roommates, Annie. That's a sacred bond. We could've kept it a secret. Abed and I are always on your side, you know."

"I know, I'm sorry."

Troy nodded towards the classroom. "We should probably go learn about dead people now."

Annie smiled and skipped ahead of him into the classroom, happily taking her seat.

* * *

"Let me walk you to class."

Annie looked up from her backpack where she was carefully packing away her things. She had a system. Class had only just ended, but Jeff was already at her side. A half smile touched her lips as she stood up, swinging her bag over her shoulders. "How chivalrous."

Jeff grinned. "Well. You know me."

She grinned teasingly back. "Yes, I do. Hence the surprise."

He rolled his eyes hard and headed for the door, leading the way out while completely ignoring their friends. Annie pretended she couldn't feel their eyes on her back as they walked. This was just new to them. They'd settle down eventually. All in all, class had gone surprisingly well. No one had caused any further drama, so that was a welcome surprise.

"Where are we headed?" Jeff asked, shortening his stride so that she could walk beside him.

"This way," Annie said, taking the lead. They were headed to her first forensics class. Normally she would have been more excited about it, talking Jeff's ear off about this new professor who was actually supposed to be really good by more than just Greendale standards, but her mind was elsewhere.

"So," she began, "I think class went really well, don't you?"

He shrugged. "Tough to tell. I usually tune out the whole first day. And a British history professor? That's a little hackneyed, don't you think?"

It took her a second to catch up. "What? No, I meant with the group. Everyone seemed to have really calmed down. I think this will all blow over soon."

Jeff looked less than convinced.

"Troy even apologized," Annie added.

"Yeah, to you."

"You didn't exactly stick around long enough for anyone to have the chance to." Jeff glanced sideways at her stern look before turning his eyes front again.

"I have a phone."

She sighed. He was impossible sometimes.

As they reached her classroom she started to say her goodbyes when Jeff pulled her aside, his face serious. "Hey, so listen," he said quickly, not quite meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry about snapping at you in the study room. I really didn't mean to. I just got frustrated and I directed it at the wrong person. So, sorry. Again."

Annie smiled up at him. "It's okay. They were being really annoying, so I get it. Apology accepted."

His blue eyes met hers, crinkling in the corners as he returned her smile. He leaned forward, going in for a kiss.

"Ahem."

They both looked over at the man walking past, his eyes on them disapprovingly. He was pale and lanky, his dark hair greased back so that it was flat against his head. He had a briefcase in one hand, his boney fingers curled tightly around its handle. "This is a school, not a club. Do that in your own time," he instructed as he disappeared into Annie's forensics class.

"That must be my professor," Annie murmured, watching the spot where he'd vanished.

Jeff shot an annoyed look at the door. "Prude." He turned back to Annie with a boyish grin, sneaking a quick kiss before walking away from her, headed towards his class. "See you at lunch!"

* * *

"Annie…"

"I'm telling you, it'll be fine," Annie repeated, continuing their earlier discussion. She was seated across from Jeff in the cafeteria, their hands clasped together, resting gently between them in the middle of the table. She couldn't understand Jeff's persistent doom and gloom attitude about all of this study group drama. She was sure that by tomorrow Jeff would be feeling foolish about it if he would just let it blow over.

Jeff shook his head. "It's not that simple. This isn't some Disney Channel show."

Annie narrowed her eyes at him. "You _do_ know that I don't watch the Disney Channel, right?"

He gave her a playful grin. "You mean you're _not_ in the _Hannah Montana_ demographic?"

" _Hannah Montana_ isn't even on TV anymore." Jeff raised his eyebrows at her in amusement and she froze as she quickly realized what she'd said. "You don't have to watch Disney Channel to know that!" she said, hurriedly backtracking, "I read magazines! Miley Cyrus –"

Jeff's laughter cut her off. She wanted to call him a jerk but she couldn't help but laugh, too. She loved their banter; the ease of conversation between them. And she loved his laugh. This was what their summer had been like. Just two people who genuinely enjoyed each other's company spending their time together. She didn't get how anyone could see this as wrong.

The sound of Shirley clearing her throat brought them both up short. Annie watched as the smile vanished from Jeff's face. He followed Shirley's eyeline to where their hands were still entwined on the table top and quickly let go, placing both hands in his lap. He looked uncomfortable.

Annie opened her mouth, intending to tell Jeff that he didn't have to do that, but before she could speak he was getting to his feet. "I've probably got a class or something," he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the student lounge. He paused, looking like he wanted to say more, but instead just spun around and headed for the door, evidently intent on getting out of the cafeteria as quickly as possible. The only thing that stopped Annie from chasing him down were her friends sliding into the booth on either side of her, trapping her between them. Britta and Abed had her pinned in.

Annie turned her glare to Shirley. "Why did you do that?" she demanded. "You were fine in class."

"I'm just letting the man know I don't approve," Shirley said as she slid in next to Pierce and Troy, her purse in her lap.

"He knows you don't approve."

"Then I'm reminding him."

Annie stabbed angrily at the food on her tray in front of her. "You know, he told me you guys would react like this," she said, laying the guilt on as thick as she could. "But I told him you wouldn't. I said that you were our friends and that you wouldn't do that to us. Now you've turned me into a liar. He was already feeling bad about our age difference and you're making it worse."

"He feels bad about the age difference?" Britta asked. She sounded surprised.

"It bothers him a lot," Annie answered. Jeff was a person with human emotions, yet people were always so shocked when they repeatedly had to relearn that fact.

"Then why is he with you?" Pierce asked. "Not that he's not lucky to be with you," he quickly added. "You're a catch. But if he's got a problem with it then why doesn't he date a man his own age?"

Annie shyly pushed her food around her plate. Despite all the drama it had caused, this was still a relatively new relationship and talking about it was kind of embarrassing. "Because he likes me," she said softly. "And I like him."

"Loves," Abed corrected.

She blushed and kept her eyes on her plate. Right. Loves.

"And you're really not sleeping with him?"

Annie's head snapped up at Britta's question. "Why are you so fixated on that! No, we are not having sex. He said I get to set the pace. Now drop it!"

There was a short beat of silence before Britta said, "Geez. If Winger's not getting any, then it must be love."

Annie put her face in her hands, but luckily Shirley swooped in to save her from further torment. Apparently Ben had done something adorable last week and she wanted to show off the pictures. The rest of lunch was spent _ooh_ ing and _ah_ ing over the photos on Shirley's phone.

* * *

Jeff leaned against the wall of lockers in the business hall and stuffed his hands into his pockets, his shoulders hunching forward. Today had sucked. This had not been how he wanted to kick off his last semester at Greendale. He hated fighting with the study group. It tended to make him miserable. And this time it wasn't just some dumb argument about an overrated rock band or which class to take together. It was like he could feel the group fracturing and he really needed to make things right again. One broken family was enough for one person, he didn't need two.

The door across from him swung open. Class was over. He watched as the students streamed out, heading off in all directions, Shirley among them. Jeff pushed away from the wall and made his way through the crowd, falling in step with her as she headed down the hall.

"Shirley," he greeted.

She glanced up at him. "Jeffery."

She kept walking and Jeff stayed beside her, watching his feet. They'd made it to the end of the hallway before he finally spoke. "Can we talk?" he asked. "I just really need to explain some things. I don't want our senior year ruined because of a fight. I know we fight all the time, but this just feels different and –"

Shirley stopped short and Jeff came to a halt beside her. "Jeff, we're not fighting. This isn't a fight. I'm just disappointed. I thought you had better sense than this."

"Shirley…"

She held up her hand. "This isn't something you can talk your way out of. This isn't a game. That little girl has her whole future ahead of her. You have no business dating someone that's young enough to be your daughter!"

Jeff flinched. "She's not a little girl. And I'm not that old."

"Jeffery –" Shirley began but Jeff cut her off.

"I know this isn't a game. I'm not playing at anything. I'm not – I wouldn't do that. Not to her." Shirley regarded him skeptically. He didn't know how to make her understand. He wasn't good at this stuff, this opening up crap. "I'm not saying forget my past. I know my track record isn't great but this is different. I swear."

Shirley sighed. "I know you have a good heart," she said, her tone calm and understanding. "I know how much you care. But you try so hard _not_ to that sometimes it's hard to tell what's really going on with you. I just want you to understand that I'm in Annie's corner on this one. I really don't think you've thought this through. Annie is young, yes, but that's not my only issue. She's also the type of person that doesn't take relationships lightly. How is this going to play out for her? How is this going to affect her and her future? What's going to happen to her when this ends?"

Jeff's stomach twisted and he dropped his gaze, staring unseeingly at the tile floor. It was amazing how she had managed to get everything both totally right and absolutely wrong at the exact same time. He knew how this would end and Annie wasn't the victim here. Annie would be fine.

"Just think about it," Shirley said as she turned her back and walked away, heading for her last class.

Jeff remained where he was, watching the distance between them grow.

"I haven't stopped thinking about it."


	2. Chapter 2

2

Jeff sat alone. He'd been sitting in the darkened silence of his apartment for hours now, his eyes focused on the cabinet above his fridge. The empty glass in his hand felt more and more like a magnet with every passing minute, it's pull leading him towards the kitchen. Resisting the magnet was getting harder the longer he sat there, the longer he thought. This would all be so much easier if his glass weren't empty. And by 'this all', he meant his life in general. Alcohol tended to have a pleasant numbing effect that he'd grown quite fond of over the years.

His phone buzzed loudly against the coffee table and without even looking at it he knew it was Annie. She'd been trying to get in contact with him all day. His stomach twisted with guilt but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He didn't want to think about that right now. He didn't really want to think at all.

He slowly got to his feet, finally giving in to the pull. The half empty bottle sloshed comfortingly as he removed it from the cabinet. He'd popped the cork a poured himself a glass before he thought better of it and the glass was at his lips before he'd stopped himself. This was such a temporary fix for such a non-temporary problem. He closed his eyes and he could see Annie's disapproving face behind his eyelids. She would be furious with him if she knew he'd spent his evening ignoring her so that he could drown his problems in scotch. It's not that she was so uptight that she couldn't understand the need for a good drink after a hard day, but she would have a thing or two to say if she knew what kind of problem his little drinking habit was threatening to become. He set his glass down hard. Dammit.

He stepped away from the counter and found his phone. Three missed calls, three unanswered texts. He typed out a quick a reply saying that he was fine. She didn't deserve to be ignored. She hadn't done anything wrong. He also knew that he was probably one more unanswered text away from her showing up and beating down his door.

He took a deep breath and turned back to the kitchen counter where the bottle still sat waiting. Reluctantly, he closed his eyes and reached out, feeling for the bottle. His fingers closed around the cool glass. He fumbled along the counter until he found what he was looking for and blindly upended the bottle, emptying its contents down the drain. The empty bottle clattered loudly into the sink and he stepped back in disgust. Well, there went two-hundred dollars.

It would be easy to lie to himself about the second bottle he still had stored away, but his impulse control had always been more than a little lacking. He knew that if the temptation were there he would give in to it but he also couldn't seem to make himself completely waste an unopened bottle. Why did turning over a new leaf always have to be such a chore? You'd think after three years with his friends he'd have gotten used to caring about stuff by now. His initial impulse was always to put himself first, to make his own life easier and just skate by where he could, but then that nagging little feeling that he always attributed to Greendale would work its way into his brain and he'd change his mind.

Jeff was standing there at the counter, sifting through his thoughts, when an idea came to him. He didn't have to pour it out. There was a way to get rid of temptation without wasting it, per se. Given that his plan involved Pierce there were bound to be unintended consequences that he'd be kicking himself for later, but other than that it was actually the most obvious solution. It might even win him some brownie points. Not that having _Pierce_ on his side would do him a lot of good, but one out of five was something at least.

Happy with his choice, he shoved away from the counter, leaving the unopened bottle behind. He did, however, take the glass he'd already poured for himself with him. He'd already wasted so much scotch, no point in wasting more. He raised the glass to his lips with a self-satisfied grin. He could start turning over that new leaf tomorrow. There was nothing wrong with affording himself just a little bit of numbness. Just for tonight.

* * *

Annie walked into the study room alone, expecting to be the only one there. She wasn't expecting for anyone to have beaten her, let alone the person who was already seated at the table.

"Jeff!"

Despite her best efforts, she hadn't been able to keep herself from worrying about him. Even after he'd let her know he was okay she'd had to stop herself from going to bang down his door at least half a dozen times. She didn't like how they'd left things. Even though this Thing between them had been a long time coming, they were still technically in the early stages of their relationship, and all this weirdness had her more on edge than she was used to.

When he turned around and saw her he grinned, making her heart skip a beat. "Good morning," he greeted.

She was so relieved to see him smile at her like that that she almost forgot why she had to be relieved. Even long before he'd said 'yes' he'd been able to affect her like that. He was a weirdly calming presence for her, despite some evidence seeming to point to the contrary. She walked around to her spot at the table and sat down, leaning forward on her elbows. She didn't want to badger him, but even her relief couldn't seem eclipse her burning curiosity. She had questions. "So, what was with the disappearing act?" she asked. "Where were you?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to be alone."

She shot him a disbelieving look and he rolled his eyes in response.

"Not everything has to be so dramatic. I went home to watch some good, old-fashioned, mind-numbing television. No need to be so suspicious."

She gave him one last skeptical look before saying, "Well, I hope you enjoyed the mind-numbing."

He quickly averted his eyes but not before she'd seen the quick flash of guilt that crossed his face. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him as he took out his phone, eyes down. It seemed more like an excuse not to look at her than actual interest in whatever he was looking at. Suddenly her anxiety was returning in full force.

"Are you okay?"

"Right as rain," he answered with a smile, but something still seemed off.

"You know that you can talk to me if you're ever not okay, though, right?" she paused, giving him the opportunity to chime in if he wanted. "I'm sorry if all my confidence made yesterday worse. I know I was wrong, so I –"

Jeff's head snapped up with a smirk, eyes glinting teasingly. "What was that?"

"Don't give me that look!" she laughed, tossing her pen in his direction since she couldn't reach him from across the table. "I'm not too proud! I can admit that I'm wrong sometimes. _Sometimes_."

Jeff grinned as he attempted to duck out of the way, the pen still managing to land a hit on his shoulder. "Temper, temper," he laughed as he scooped the pen off the floor and launched it back at her, landing it squarely on her left boob.

"Hey!" she protested, covering her chest and feigning hurt.

He grinned as he shrugged. "'Violence begets violence'."

Annie laughed out of shock.

"Don't act so surprised," he said. "I know stuff."

Annie shook her head with a smile. "Shirley would be so proud."

The others chose that moment to enter the room and Shirley definitely did not look proud. The tonal shift in Jeff was instantaneous. His eyes dropped back to his phone and he tried to surreptitiously shift himself further away from her even though they were still half a table apart.

As everyone else took their seats they seemed to mimic his behavior, avoiding eye contact and taking out their books even though no homework had been assigned the night before. It took a few awkward minutes to get everything back to normal but soon they were all talking and laughing like usual. Except that everyone seemed to be just a tad more cordial towards Jeff than they were towards anyone else. Annie didn't know if this was leftover hostility from the day before or if they were just taking their cues from Jeff, but it was long passed pissing her off.

By lunch, most of the group's frostiness with Jeff had cleared up. But even though he was talking like normal, she could tell he was still tense, especially around Britta and Shirley. They seemed to be the only ones who still held issue and Annie wanted to know why.

Annie pulled them both aside after lunch to question them.

"Could you at least explain to me why you don't approve of Jeff and me?" she asked. "I'm just trying to understand."

Shirley and Britta shared a hesitant look.

"I just don't think a relationship like this is good for you," Shirley explained. "You've had such a crush on him for so long. We just don't want to see you get your heart broken."

"Jeff doesn't do commitment," Britta added. "You saw how well that whole Slater thing worked out."

"But _she_ broke up with _him_ ," Annie reminded them.

Britta and Shirley glanced at each other. "Yeah, I guess," Britta said slowly, "but that was still his one and only _actual_ relationship."

"But you and Jeff –"

Britta took a step back, waving her arms back and forth in front of her. "Woah, no, that doesn't count and we are _not_ going there."

Annie glared. "So, you don't have any real reason to disapprove, then."

"Think about the age gap," Shirley tried. They were reaching now. "You've got your whole future ahead of you. I don't want to see him hold you back."

This one made Annie roll her eyes. "He wouldn't hold me back because he's not like that," she said. "And if you think I _could_ be held back then you clearly don't know me at all." Shirley's only response was to haughtily readjust her purse on her shoulder, avoiding eye contact as she did so.

"We're being nice to him," Britta finally argued.

"No, you're being civil. There's a difference. You're scaring him away! But not in the way you want to be. You're pushing him away from the group."

Britta shrugged and Annie growled in frustration before stomping off, too upset to keep talking. This stupid bickering was getting them nowhere. They were refusing to see their relationship for what is was. They had all these weird and outdated ideas and she couldn't seem to get through to them. Only time would change their minds.

* * *

Annie was sitting in class, absent-mindedly clicking her pen while she waited for the professor to start the lesson. It was a film history and criticism class that she, Troy, Abed, and Pierce were all taking together at Abed's insistence. The others had been invited but declined due to schedule conflicts, or in Jeff's case, the desire to do the absolute bare minimum in his final semester.

Across the room Pierce was taking his seat, a large glass bottle of brown liquid he hadn't had with him this morning displayed proudly on his desktop.

"Alright, grandpa!" Starburns called, swooping out of nowhere and snagging the bottle from his desk. "Bringin' in the good stuff."

Pierce snatched it back, holding it protectively out of Starburns' reach. "It's not for you, Starface. Jeff Winger gave this to me as a gift." He glanced around to make sure people were listening before he continued, "We're best friends now."

"I thought you two were already best friends," Troy teased.

Pierce glared back. "Jealousy is a bad look, Troy."

"Jeff gave that to you?" Annie hadn't meant to ask out loud but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Everything Jeff was doing lately seemed just a little off to her. She couldn't figure it out.

"Yes, he did," Pierce said. "Something about not wanting it anymore because he quit drinking. But the important part is that he gave it to me because I was the only one he could think of that could appreciate a fine scotch as much as he does."

"Ten to one says he didn't say it that nice," Troy muttered to Abed, who nodded in agreement.

Annie hardly paid attention though. As unbelievable as it was that Jeff had offered Pierce a gift and kind words without coercion, it was nothing compared to Jeff just up and deciding to go dry. Obviously she didn't expect to be consulted about his every life choice, but the timing of this one was more than a little suspicious. Could she just ask him about it? Would he tell her the truth? Things had slowly been getting better with their friends, but that didn't mean that he was okay. And if he had given up alcohol because of their situation then that meant he decidedly wasn't.

By the time her class ended she had a plan. She would get him alone and slowly broach the subject, but she would make it fun. A date night. They both probably needed it anyway. They'd grown used to each other's company over the summer but Jeff had been keeping her at arm's length ever since school had started back. An evening together would get them back on track to being normal again.

* * *

After school, Annie caught up with Jeff in the parking lot as he made his way to his car. He was usually in a hurry to get home from school as soon as possible. He didn't really like hanging around Greendale when he didn't have to, especially these last few days. The rest of the school had somehow gotten wind of their relationship (her bet was Pierce) and they'd both gotten some less than supportive comments from a few of the nastier characters at school. Like Jeff needed that added stress.

"Hey!" she called out, practically running to keep up with his long-legged gait.

When he turned and saw it was her, he smiled and slowed his pace, allowing her to match his stride. "Hey yourself," he greeted.

"Do you wanna hang out tonight?" she panted. She figured she'd just cut to the chase. "Troy and Abed are going through a cops and robbers phase and it's driving me nuts. I was wondering if I could come over to your place for a few hours." When he didn't immediately respond, she hurriedly continued, "We can order Indian food, my treat?"

He chuckled at her apparent eagerness and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close as they walked. "Wouldn't want to leave you to fend for yourself against those two. They might decide they need a damsel in distress and tie you to the railroad tracks or something."

"You think you're joking…"

Jeff laughed again and kissed the top of her head before climbing into his car. "I'll see you tonight, then," he said with a wave.

* * *

A couple hours later, Annie was knocking on Jeff's apartment door, a to-go bag from the Silver Taj in one hand. She had gotten them food from their favorite Indian restaurant. They had discovered it together over the summer while on their very first real date. She figured the combination of nostalgia and good food could only serve to make her evening's mission easier.

The door opened and there was Jeff, shooting her one of his heart-stopping toothy grins in greeting. "M'lady," he said, using his special nickname for her and stepping aside to let her in.

"M'lord," she responded happily. He seemed to be in a good mood, so that was promising. Maybe she'd overacted. It wouldn't be the first time. Once inside she held the brown paper bag aloft, "I come bearing tikka masala, as promised."

He bent down and gave her a quick kiss before accepting the bag from her. "Do you wanna eat at the table or on the sofa?"

"Sofa, please." Annie bounced over to the couch, perfectly at ease in Jeff's apartment. She'd spent most of her summer here. She even had toiletries tucked away in his bathroom, a privilege that was more for his benefit than hers. He'd struck up the perfect shampoo to conditioner balance and if she threw it off he would never forgive her. His words, not hers.

Jeff clinked around in the kitchen for a minute while she kicked off her shoes and settled onto the couch with her legs curled up beside her. The TV was already on. Jeff had been watching some kind of sports show. A bunch of guys were sitting around a semi-circle desk talking about early season statistics or something equally trivial.

"You can change that," Jeff said, nodding at the television as he came around the couch with their food all served up on plates.

"This is fine. Watch whatever you want," she replied, taking her plate from him.

"Uh, huh." He took his seat beside her on the couch. "You'll be bored of this in ten minutes."

She stuck her tongue out at him, but he was right. She got bored of it quickly and eating had only distracted her for so long. After a few boring minutes on Twitter, she took their dishes to the sink and washed them, mostly just for something to do.

When she returned to the couch, he was handing her the TV remote with a cocky grin. She made a face as she took it from him, reluctant to admit defeat but content to curl up beside him, her head resting against his shoulder. She may have lost but it had its benefits, like no more sports. And it also put her in a better position to get the ball rolling on her plan.

"So," she began cautiously as she scanned through the guide on the TV, suddenly very unsure if she was doing the right thing. "I heard you stopped drinking?"

She felt his eyes on her but she didn't look up from the screen. She could play aloof. "I forgot you had that class with Pierce," he finally muttered.

"Mmhm." When he didn't elaborate she prompted him again, "So, no more drinking?"

"It's not a big deal."

That remained to be seen. She fought the urge to swallow nervously. "Health reasons?"

"Something like that," he said offhand. He seemed to hesitate for a second like he was trying to decide what to tell her. "My therapist had suggested it a while ago and I just sort of decided it was time to take her advice." He paused. "Why?"

Annie shrugged. "Just curious. You never mentioned it." She chanced a glance at him. He was still looking at her but he didn't seem upset. He seemed a little wary, but otherwise completely comfortable with her questions. That put her mind at ease a little bit. She was still curious if his decision had anything to do with the recent study group drama, but she also didn't want to risk spoiling his good mood.

"I didn't mention it because it wasn't that important," he clarified. "I'm sorry you found out like that, though. I guess I didn't really think about that being something I should tell you beforehand. I'm still kind of inexperienced at the boyfriend thing."

Annie's eyebrows shot towards her hairline. That was the first time he'd referred to himself as her boyfriend. She didn't know how to respond. She was almost afraid to acknowledge it and embarrass him. So, instead she settled with snuggling up closer to his side. "No harm, no foul," she said. She felt his arms tighten around her and decided that the rest of her questions could definitely wait. She'd much rather be just spending time with her boyfriend instead of interrogating him. Which was just as well because she'd finally found a show that she wanted to watch.

" _Gilmore Girls_?" Jeff groaned at the screen. "I hate this show."

"You do not!" she disagreed. "You've never even seen it. How can you hate something you've never seen?" He grumbled something about it being a chick show and she rolled her eyes. "Just watch an episode or two. If you really don't like it, then I won't make you watch any more. Deal?"

He sighed. "Deal."

After the second episode ended, Jeff looked down at Annie, who was still nestled against his side. "The information I am about to share never leaves this room, okay?"

Annie sat up, already beaming. She nodded excitedly.

" _Gilmore Girls_ is actually not an awful show."

"It's a great show!" she exclaimed, happily climbing into his lap and winding her arms around his neck. "And you shouldn't be ashamed of liking well-made television."

"Yeah, but this would be dangerous information in the hands of someone like Pierce or Duncan." He wrapped his arms around her as well and held her close. "So, I'm going to need you to never tell anyone about this, got it?"

"Got it," she giggled and held up three fingers in a scout's salute. "I promise to never tell anyone that Jeff Winger likes quality TV."

"Thank you."

He kissed her then and she happily kissed him back, more than pleased to be distracted from the town of Stars Hallow by his lips. They moved together, completely in sync. Jeff had once said that they were like a perfect duet, and she had to agree. They had had always worked well together, adding the physical to it was just further proof of the theory.

His arms tightened around her and what started as a sweet kiss suddenly became more. The kiss deepened and she curled her fingers into his hair, holding him close to her, shifting so that they were horizontal. This certainly hadn't been how she had imagined date night going, but she had to admit that she didn't mind and it seemed that he didn't either. Slowly, through the hormonal fog that was her brain, an idea began to form.

She nervously broke their kiss, working up the nerve to speak. Jeff pulled back a little, regarding her with such admiration that she flushed. "Um, so, remember that conversation we had about going at my pace?" she half stammered, her bottom lip anxiously finding its way between her teeth.

Instantly she regretted her nervously constructed wording. She saw a flicker of fear in his eyes as he misunderstood her. He started to straighten up, pulling away from her. "Wait!" She grabbed him by the shoulders, holding him firmly in place. "That's not what I meant."

He hesitated before settling back down next to her. "I remember," he said, his eyes carefully studying her face as his fingers absent-mindedly found her hair, twirling it gently around his fingers as he spoke. "I said that you had to make the first move."

"Well," she blushed, "consider this the first move."

His hand froze mid-twirl. After a beat he drew back again, this time to get a better look at her face. She felt her blush deepen. "Are you sure?" he asked.

She couldn't help but remember what Abed had said. Jeff loved her, even if he hadn't exactly said it yet. And she loved him. Even if she hadn't said it yet, either. And beyond that, she trusted him. This was a way to express that. And, okay, he was looking really good tonight with his freshly pressed button-up and tousled hair. She gripped his shoulders more firmly and nodded. "I'm sure," she said. She was pleased by how resolute her voice sounded. It would have done nothing to ease his fears if her voice had come out as shaky as she felt.

He studied her face for a moment, looking for doubt, and then suddenly he was kissing her again. There was a hunger behind his lips and she quickly realized that the Jeff she had been kissing for months had been very controlled compared to the one she was kissing now. He wasn't holding back anymore. And she liked it.

All too soon he was pulling away again, but before she could complain he was standing up, pulling her with him. He kissed her once more, quickly. "Still sure?" he asked, breathless.

"Very sure," she replied, just as breathless. He grinned and took her by the hand, leading her towards the bedroom.

* * *

Jeff was lying on his side, head against his pillow. Beside him, Annie mirrored his pose. Her hand was clasped in his, resting on the mattress between them. He realized that he'd been unconsciously tracing patterns against her skin with his thumb and smiled to himself. This was all so new to him. He'd never just laid in bed with a woman like this. He'd never cared to. This was the point in the evening where he was usually trying to get women to leave, not hoping that they would stay.

"You still good?" he asked gently, his eyes tracing her face.

"Yes, Jeff," she answered with an eye roll and an accompanying smile. "This wasn't my first time, you know?"

He returned her teasing smile. She couldn't help giving him a hard time, could she? "I know," he said. "But it was _our_ first time. I just wanted to make sure it was you know, okay. Special."

"Was it special for you?"

He got up on one elbow and leaned in to kiss her gently. "Of course," he said. "And, may I just say, it was worth the wait."

Her hand smacked against his bare shoulder as she laughed. "Well, then I'm glad it was good for you!"

He grinned and laid back against his pillow, crossing his arms behind his head. "It was excellent." He barely flinched at the hand that slapped against his chest.

He glanced over at her, watching her face in the contented silence of their afterglow. He wished he could explain the warmth that blossomed in his chest when he looked at her like this. He didn't know how he'd ever been able to ignore it. Her eyes met his and she smiled, a light blush coloring her cheeks, just enough to make him curious. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, rolling back onto his side and inching closer to her. Everything about her fascinated him.

Her blush deepened. "I'm just thinking that I'm happy."

"Good."

"I hope this helps you be happy, too."

He felt the smile fade from his face, his blood suddenly running cold. "What?"

"I just meant that I hope this helps you feel like yourself again," she said quickly, nervously trying to clarify. "You've been so upset lately. I just want you to be as happy as I am."

He sat up, his eyes never leaving her face. "Annie," he said calmly, careful not to betray the unexpected panic that he could feel welling up inside of him. "Please tell me that we did not just have sex in an attempt to make me feel better."

"Well, that's not the only reason!"

What kind of person was he if that was the kind of explanation she thought he would be okay with? "Oh, God." He climbed out of bed, his eyes sweeping the room as if a better explanation was somewhere just out of sight. Only a moment ago he had been so happy. And now… It was just sex. Who cared why it had happened? Sex was sex. But he cared. He very much cared.

"Calm down. I _wanted_ to sleep with you!" Annie said, watching him from her place on the bed. "Don't be gross, Jeff."

"Me don't be gross?" he said, whirling on her, his voice raised and angry. The warmth in his chest had become a sting. "You don't be gross! I'm not the one using sex as leverage!"

"Like you never have!" she shouted back, getting to her feet, too. They were standing face to face now. "I'm sure Mr. Manipulation has never used sex as a tool before!"

He glared at her. That was different! That was before! He hadn't done that to her! He would never –

"Look," she said more calmly, smoothing out an invisible line between them with her palms, "I'll admit that it was a non-zero amount of my reasoning, but I can also promise you that I didn't do anything I didn't want to. I care about you and I wanted to show you that."

The pain that had flared in his chest just seconds before was beginning to lessen, but it was still there, aching beneath his ribs.

"You wanted this to be special, right?" Annie asked, talking to fill the silence that stretched between them. "What's done is done. Yelling about it won't make it better."

No, yelling wouldn't make it better. Yelling wouldn't even make him feel better. Not anymore. He wanted to be angry at her for causing this pain in his chest, but he just couldn't. He couldn't because whose fault was it really. The person who just wanted to let someone know how much they cared? Or the jerk who was so bad at feeling rejected that he made her feel like this was the only way she could do so? He inhaled shakily. "You're right," he said, his voice calm and even. "I'm sorry I yelled. I was just… Taken off guard, that's all. I didn't mean to freak out on you." He paused, watching her face carefully. "Are you staying over?"

Her eyebrows drew in, creasing her forehead with worry lines. "I'd like to," she answered. "If that's okay."

He smiled softly and moved forward, taking her face in his hands, drawing her towards him to place a kiss on the top of her head. "Of course it's okay. You know I love it when you stay here."

He started to move away but a gentle hand against his bicep stopped him. "I really did have a nice time tonight." Her voice was soft. "I'm sorry that I was less than honest."

He kissed her again. "I had a great night, too." He stepped back and took her hand in his. "Bedtime?" he asked. When she nodded he led the way over to the bed just as he had earlier, but this time the intent was much more innocent.

They climbed into bed together and he lay down on his side, his back to Annie. He felt deflated. Like the husk of the person he had been less than ten minutes ago. How strange that such a simple self-revelation could change how one fundamentally thought of themselves.

"Goodnight." Annie's voice was small and quiet, seeking comfort.

Jeff rolled over and studied her for a moment before he reached out and gently drew her to him, holding her close in silent assurance that he wasn't still mad. "Goodnight."


	3. Chapter 3

3

Annie blinked herself awake in confusion. It took her several sleepy seconds to realize where she was. Everything was quiet, so it must still be early. She rolled over, reaching out beneath the sheets and finding the other side of the bed empty. She was upright in seconds, her heart in her throat. Her alarm was short-lived, though. Jeff must have known she would panic because he'd left breakfast for her on the bedside table. Orange juice and a cream cheese danish. She smiled softly to herself, letting her heartbeat return to normal. Jeff really could be sweet when he wanted to.

She nibbled at the danish as she sat in bed, thinking over the night before. It had all backfired pretty spectacularly. They'd been having the perfect evening and she just had to open her big, fat mouth and ruin it. It definitely could have been worse, but it also could have gone so much better. Her goal at the end of the night had been to make sure he was happy and she'd somehow managed to upset him even further. She wondered if he'd be mad at her. Ugh. She didn't even know how to deal with that. She was fretting over how she should run damage control when she heard the shower cut on. She looked up at the closed bedroom door, another idea forming.

She got up and headed for the bathroom but hesitated outside of the door. Clearly, as last night had demonstrated, not all of her ideas should be executed, but she felt like she had to do _something_ to break the ice. Otherwise she was going to be awkward around him for the rest of her life. She took a deep breath and turned the doorknob.

"Jeff?" she called out over the sound of the running water, alerting him to her presence.

Jeff peeked out from behind the shower curtain, his wet hair dripping onto his bare shoulders. "Morning," he greeted before ducking back behind the curtain. Well, he _seemed_ normal enough. "Sorry. Just give me a few minutes, then it's all yours."

She took another steadying breath before moving deeper into the bathroom. She was just on the other side of the curtain. "How about I just join you?" she asked.

Jeff's head popped out again, the strangest look on his face.

Annie felt her cheeks go pink. "It saves time," she quickly explained, trying to justify herself. "And water. You know, good for the environment and everything –" She chomped down on her bottom lip to cut herself off mid-babble. "If you don't mind, that is," she added.

Jeff let out a short breath of a laugh, shaking his head as he smiled.

"What?" Annie asked self-consciously, feeling her blush deepen.

"I just don't understand how you keep managing to surprise me." He inclined his head towards the interior of the shower, disappearing behind the curtain. "C'mon."

The shower worked like magic, instantly washing away any awkwardness that might have lingered from the night before. The whole thing felt surprisingly normal despite this being a new experience for them. It made for an unexpectedly good start to their day.

After the shower came the second of the morning's hang ups. She'd gone to get dressed before she remembered that she hadn't originally planned to stay over. She hadn't packed anything to wear. She picked up her clothes from where she'd left them piled on the floor and looked them over. Well, at least she'd worn jeans instead of a skirt, that made things a little easier. She peeked into the bathroom where Jeff was still only mid-way through his daily, high-maintenance beauty ritual. Surely he wouldn't mind if she borrowed a shirt.

His walk-in closet was like a mini department store. They didn't even have this much clothing in her whole apartment and there were three of them living there. She ran her fingers through all of his expensive shirts, trying to choose. She settled on a dark blue button-up that she liked on him. She had to roll the sleeves a few times so that she wasn't drowning in fabric, but it otherwise fit fine. Lucky for her he liked to wear such tight shirts.

She was making her way back to the bathroom to finish getting ready just as Jeff was vacating it. He smiled and stopped to grab her by the hips as he passed, pulling her close. "You look good in that," he said, plucking at the collar of the shirt she wore. "I might just have to let you keep it."

She was still blushing when she looked up at herself in the bathroom mirror. The easy domesticity that they were sharing this morning brought butterflies to her stomach. Maybe she hadn't failed as horribly as she thought she had. He seemed perfectly happy and she'd even gotten some answers to her questions. She laughed to herself as she brushed her teeth. She worried too much for her own good. She knew that and yet she couldn't seem to stop.

"Hey," Jeff called from the bedroom, "You know we're late for study group, right?"

She choked on her toothpaste. " _What_?"

Jeff openly laughed at her as she rushed around like a mad woman trying to get ready but he knew enough to stay out of her way. He didn't even argue when she bolted from the apartment towing him along behind her and insisting that she drive. Driving at least made her feel like she had some control over the situation.

Despite her efforts, they ended up missing study group entirely. By the time they'd parked the car, they only had a few minutes to make it to their history class on time. Annie was flustered through the whole first half of the lesson. She'd never been late like this before. She thought for sure that the reason the classroom's atmosphere felt off was because her schedule had been thrown for a loop; if only she were so lucky.

Halfway through class, something in her gut made her glance over her shoulder at Jeff, just to check on him. His expression made her freeze. He was totally still, his eyes down on his desk, looking for all the world like he would love nothing more than for the Earth to open up and swallow him whole. She'd never seen him look so submissive, like a child being scolded. After a moment her eyes flicked around the room, finding the faces of her friends all turned in his direction, eyes narrowed and angry. Accusatory.

When class ended, Annie got to her feet, waiting by her desk as her classmates filed past her, leaving only their study group in the room. "What –"

Shirley cut her off with a look. "Study room," she said. "Now."

Shirley led them from the room, heading straight for the library. Jeff followed after her without even glancing at Annie as he passed. Submissive.

"I don't understand," Annie said, trying to meet someone's eye as they moved past her, leaving her standing there, confused. "What's going on?"

"Tribunal," Abed answered apologetically. He waited as she gathered her stuff and walked alongside her on the way to the library. "I'm really sorry," he said. "I didn't know it meant anything." Annie shook her head. He wasn't making any sense.

Britta slammed her history book down on the table as soon as they'd reached the study room, whirling on Jeff. "We thought you weren't sleeping together."

She'd been speaking to Jeff but it was Annie that responded. "What?"

"What did he finally say to get you in the sack?" Britta asked. She was addressing Annie now but her eyes kept flicking to Jeff. "I bet it was good."

"What?" Annie repeated. "I don't –"

"Oh, come on, Annie," Britta said in exasperation. "Abed said you didn't come home last night. You two walked in late together and you're wearing his shirt. Did you really think we wouldn't put two and two together?"

Annie looked down at her top and felt her face go red. She had completely forgotten that she was wearing Jeff's clothes. Embarrassment passed quickly though and only rage was left in its wake. This had gone so far beyond ridiculous and they definitely knew it. "Are you guys serious right now? Are you going to scrutinize us for the rest of our lives? This is _so_ not healthy. Leave us alone! And what the hell, Abed? We talked about this!"

"I didn't know." Abed's eyes were wide. Within their dark depths she could read his genuine concern. He knew he'd messed up. "I just said it. I didn't know it meant anything."

She believed him but it didn't make it any better. She was still seething. She turned her glare on the rest of the group. "Why do you have us under such a freaking microscope?" she snapped. "We're consenting adults so back off!"

"Annie," Shirley said, attempting to make her tone soothing, trying her best to deescalate the situation. "We're just worried about you."

"No, you're not! You're interfering!"

"I didn't –" Jeff began to speak but he was immediately cut off.

"Got something to say for yourself?" Britta asked.

"Or were you gonna try to pin the blame on Annie again?" Troy sneered.

"Troy!" Annie quickly admonished.

Jeff shook his head as he got his feet, his expression was one of defeat. "I want what's best for her, too," he said to the table. "I just want you all to know that." He took a breath like he had more to say, like there was a Winger speech coming that could make all of this right again, but there wasn't. Without another word, he turned and left, leaving his books behind.

Annie watched him go for just a second before she chased after him. He had stopped looking like he wished the ground open up and swallow him. He looked like a someone who'd gotten their wish only to realize that being swallowed by the Earth had actually dropped him right into Hell itself.

* * *

Jeff felt slender fingers close around his wrist. He knew without looking who it was. "Jeff, wait," she pleaded and his body obeyed without his consent. Even when he was angry, even when all he wanted was to be alone with a drink in his hand, he couldn't say no to her.

"Annie…" Her grip tightened at the sound of her name and he sighed, giving in. She wasn't going to let him go anytime soon. He turned around, his wrist still captured, to find her looking up at him, her clear blue eyes round and worried.

"Don't go," she said. "We can talk about this. They'll calm back down. They're overacting like always, you'll see. Remember daylight savings? You can't expect this group to react to anything like normal humans."

Jeff could feel eyes boring holes into him through the study room windows. If looks could kill he would have been dead ten times over by now. He clenched his fists. He wished he and Annie were somewhere else, anywhere else. He knew what had to happen next and he really didn't want an audience for it. Another reason for them to hate him.

"I don't know if I can keep doing this."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

This hurt. This hurt bad. But he had to. Things had gone too far already. Any further and they'd both regret it. "Are we just fighting fate here?" he asked. "I mean… Look at the problems this is causing. For everyone."

She was shaking her head before he had even finished speaking. "That's on them. That's not on us. Everything will be fine. You'll see. I promise."

"But what if we're wrong."

"We're not wrong. We're right." She shook his arm, fingers digging into flesh, " _This_ is right."

There was a fire in his chest and it flared at the very idea of the words he had to say. He would be a smoldering pile of embers before he'd even done it. But he needed to. He had to. He would end this before things got worse for her. She was twenty-one. She'd bounce back fast. He could finish out the semester as planned and then get out of here. He'd go find work with Mark. Hang out with Alan again. Spend his weekends drinking himself into a stupor. Have his old life back. "Annie…"

She looked deep into his eyes and he watched the realization happen in real time. She knew. She knew exactly what he was trying to do… And he couldn't do it. The one selfless thing he could offer her and he couldn't freaking do it. He pulled her to him, wrapping her in his arms, holding her to his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said quietly, his voice soothing. "I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."

She buried her face in his chest and he could feel her shoulders shudder as her breath caught in her chest.

He realized with shocking clarity, as she rested against the spot where the fire still burned, that he was in love with her. Absolutely and undeniably. He had been in love with her for years, for longer than he even knew. Being together wasn't fighting fate. Staying apart had been. And he should have fought harder. His hand went instinctively to her hair, trailing his fingers through it soothingly, keeping her close. "It's okay. I'm sorry," he whispered.

He could still feel eyes on him. Questioning and angry. Did they know? Could they tell? Not that it mattered at this point. His days of having friends were in the past. The thought made his chest ache all over again. He screwed up his face, closing his eyes. He took a moment to prepare himself and then stepped away from her, putting distance between them. It felt like ripping the bandage off a still raw wound. She looked up at him, confused and hurt. He shook his head, taking another step back. "I have to go," he said quickly before he could change his mind. He needed air. He needed to think. He needed to get drunk.

"Why?" Annie reached for him again. "Please sta –"

"Don't." Jeff held up his hand. "Don't tell me to stay because I will. I can't be here right now, Annie. I can't. I –" He gestured towards the study room. He made the mistake of letting his eyes follow his gesture. He had to stop himself from flinching away from the four sets of accusatory eyes staring back at him. Staring at the jerk who had just made Annie Edison cry.

Before he could change his mind, before Annie could bat those eye lashes and make him stay, he crossed the distance between them and gave her one final kiss before turning his back and leaving the library.

* * *

Annie opened her eyes to Jeff's retreating back. He was walking away from her, headed for the parking lot. Everything seemed to be operating in half-speed as she watched him go. It took a long moment before she remembered that she had driven today. He didn't have his car. He would have to walk. She almost went after him to remind him, then she almost got out her phone to call him, then she realized that she still hadn't moved. Her forensics class would be starting soon and she was still just standing there in the hallway outside the study room, feeling like the world was spiraling around her.

There was something wrong with Jeff. Something that he hadn't told her. She wanted to be mad; At him, at their friends, at anyone who had made him feel like breaking up with her would have been the noble thing to do. He had come close to almost going through with it, too. But she couldn't be mad because she was feeling something else. Something that had taken over every inch of her being down to her very pores. She looked down at her hands, watching them tremble like leaves about to fall. It was more than just nerves. She was anxious. No. She was afraid.

* * *

"Guys."

"Shh," Britta hissed, waving her hand at Abed to keep him quiet. Everyone in the room was turned towards the window, watching the drama that was unfolding right outside. Jeff looked miserable. Good.

Jeff and Annie almost looked like they were fighting, except they didn't seem to be yelling. Then Annie's tears started. Everyone seemed to tense up, the instinctive need to protect one of their own boiling up in each of them.

"Did he just break up with her?" Troy asked. "Did we just watch Jeff break up with Annie?"

"I don't know. It doesn't look like it," Pierce said, adjusting his glasses as if that would suddenly make it all clear to him. "Hugging her would be an interesting tactic if he did. I usually just run."

"Guys," Abed said again.

"Abed," Britta said. "Unless you have some soothsayer insight, shut it."

Jeff walked away leaving Annie standing alone in the hall. She didn't move. She didn't go after him and she didn't come back into the study room. She just kept standing where he'd left her.

"Guys, something's not right." When they finally turned to Abed he was still staring at Annie, studying her face, seeing something they couldn't. "I think we broke Jeff."

* * *

Annie went to class like normal. Not because she was motivated by any sense of duty or desire to learn like usual, but because it was the next step in her day. Her body was on autopilot, just going through the motions. She didn't even take notes. She couldn't. How was she meant to concentrate on school when she was being consumed from the inside out? What had started with the understandable fear-tinged urge to call and check on Jeff was slowly morphing into the desperate desire to tear the city apart until she found him. Her friends watched as every unanswered text, every missed phone call slowly drove her insane. Before her school day was even over she'd given in. She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to find him.

Annie felt around the doorway for the spare key she knew was hidden there. Jeff had it made for her over the summer. For obvious reasons hiding it had been preferable to keeping it on her keyring. The addition of a new key was definitely the weird sort of thing that Abed would notice. Now she guessed it didn't really matter. Her fingers trembled as they closed around the cold bit of metal. She was barely able to keep her hand steady as she turned the lock.

"Jeff?" she called out quietly as she opened the door. She waited for a response before she peeked in. She didn't know what she would find and that made her afraid. His apartment was dark and empty. He wasn't there, but he had been recently. The curtains were drawn shut, blocking out the sun, and the TV was on. It had been off when they'd left that morning, she was sure of it. By the flickering light of the TV she could see a half empty bottle of brown liquor sitting on the coffee table, obviously a new purchase. The brown paper bag that it had come in had been discarded onto the floor, drawing her eyes to the carpet beneath it. It seemed to glimmer in places, the light of the television glinting off of it like raindrops. As she took a step closer, a strange dark spot on the wall caught her attention. She felt her stomach drop to her knees.

"Jeff?" she called out one last time as the door banged shut behind her, leaving her in darkness until she felt along the wall for the light switch, flicking it on.

She took in the room with a gasp. The first coherent thought she managed to have was, at least he hadn't had an axe this time around. The poor dining room table would have been kindling. As it was it had only been flipped onto its side. The room was a mess. Throw pillows and blankets had been strewn everywhere in his apparent anger. The raindrops on the carpet weren't water. They were shards of broken glass, sprayed across the rug where he had clearly thrown a cup against the wall hard enough for it to shatter. Her eyes traveled to the dark spot on the wall and the whole room seemed to shift sideways. She had to grab on to the breakfast bar to keep herself upright. She'd been expecting the dark stain of scotch, a place of impact for the glass, not a cracked and broken piece of drywall, the wooden stud beneath it showing through. It looked like someone had repeatedly smashed the same spot over and over. The paint on his walls had always been a light grey, except now around this new hole it was smattered with red, turning brown around the edges where the strange scalloped pattern was beginning to dry.

It wasn't paint, she managed to note as she lowered herself to the floor. It was blood.

* * *

The sound of Troy's phone ringing made Shirley jump. The group had been sitting in silence for at least an hour and the sudden noise was jarring. After class they had all come back to Troy, Abed, and Annie's apartment only to find that Annie wasn't there even though she'd left school before them. No one said it was weird, but no one had to. They all felt it. The whole day had been thrown off-kilter after Jeff and Annie had walked into Cornwallis' class late. Now everything was off. The atmosphere was weirdly tense and everyone was on edge with no real explanation as to why. Abed was right. Something was wrong.

"Annie, slow down." Shirley's eyes flicked to Troy. He was on the phone, his eyebrows drawn in confusion. "Now, what about Jeff?"

She could hear Annie on the other end, her voice coming through all rushed and panicky. She couldn't understand what she was saying but she didn't have to. She knew it was bad. Troy's eyes had gone wide. He jumped to his feet, something she'd said spurring him into action. "Of course we'll help you look. Everyone's already here. Should we come over to Jeff's or –" He was moving for the door, reaching for his keys when he paused. "No, calling the police is definitely a good idea. We'll try to think of someplace he might have gone, too."

Troy hung up and turned to face the group. "Jeff is missing."

* * *

Britta stood in the parking lot, the cool evening breeze whipping her hair against her face. The parking lot was empty except for a few cars, which as it turns out was a very good thing. A shiny, dark blue Lexus had been pulled into the lot rather recklessly, haphazardly parked across three spaces going the wrong way down a one way stretch. She'd had a hunch that he might have come here.

As she moved across the campus, the entrance to the library came into view. Against the front, a ladder had been leaned against the overhang. At the top of the ladder a silhouetted figure sat, feet dangling over the edge.

"Whatcha doin' up there?" she called as she got closer, peering up at Jeff in the glare of the setting sun.

He leaned over the edge curiously, looking for the speaker. His face broke into a crooked smile when he realized it was her. "Well, look who it is." He waved at her clumsily with his right hand, his fingers curled around the neck of a mostly empty bottle, liquid sloshing around loudly as he moved.

Annie had warned them that he'd probably been drinking, but Britta hadn't expected to find him this far gone. "Are you drunk?" she asked.

"Dangerously so," he replied with another grin.

"Why don't you come down here then?" she suggested, warily measuring the distance between where Jeff was seated on the roof and the hard concrete steps beneath him. That guy she'd met in Amsterdam had lived after he'd fallen out of the window at the Anne Frank House, but she didn't really want to test the theory with Jeff if she could help it.

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Okay." She thought for a moment before asking, "Can I come up there, then?"

He shrugged. "Free country."

She eyed the ladder and wished that she hadn't opened her big mouth. Heights usually didn't bother her, but ladders found on the Greendale campus weren't exactly high on her list of trustworthy objects. Her fingers closed around the metal rungs and she exhaled slowly, pulling herself up towards the roof one rickety step at a time.

Without looking down she carefully crawled across to where he sat and swung her legs out into the open air, letting them dangle beside Jeff's. When she looked over at him he was smiling. He set down his bottle and brought his hands together to drunkenly applaud her.

She was halfway to smiling when she noticed the inky red stain that had seeped its way into the cuff of his shirt. "You're bleeding," she noted.

"Huh?"

"Your hand," she said, pointing at his sleeve. "What happened?"

He looked down at his left hand as if he had forgotten all about it. "Oh, right. I punched a wall."

"How many times exactly?" she asked, taking his left hand in both of hers. It was hard to get a good look at it now that the sun was beginning to set behind the library, but it didn't look good. His knuckles were raw and open. What was left of the skin was already swelling and beginning to darken. His whole hand would be purple by tomorrow morning.

"Dunno," he answered. "It's kinda fuzzy there in the middle."

"Well, you really did a number on it." She sighed and relinquished his hand. "Annie's the nurse, not me, but I'd say it's broken."

He held his hand out in front of him, slowly curling and uncurling his fingers, testing the joints. "Huh. It doesn't feel broken."

"Not yet," she warned, swatting at his arm to stop him before he could do even more damage.

He snatched up his bottle and brought it to his lips with a mischievous grin. "Thank God for alcohol."

She watched in horror as he upended the bottled, swallowing like it was water. She reached for him, "Maybe you shouldn't –"

He jerked away from her and glared. "I didn't let you come up here to talk me down. So, don't."

She shivered and this time she couldn't blame the cool night air. She'd dealt with Jeff when he was drunk and upset before, but this was suddenly on a whole new level. She'd climbed up here to jokingly talk her drunk friend into giving it a rest for the night and somehow, she'd found herself sitting beside someone who appeared to be teetering on a very serious precipice. She covertly patted at her pockets looking for her phone. She needed help. With a sinking feeling she remembered where her phone was, still sitting in the cupholder of her car where she'd left it. She was alone.

"Did it help?" she asked. She hoped he was drunk enough that he wouldn't notice how strained her voice had suddenly become.

"Hm?"

"Punching the wall. Did it help?"

He laughed once; a tense, humorless sound.

"Okay, stupid question," she muttered. "It obviously didn't help."

"No," he looked at her thoughtfully. "It helped… At the time. While I was doing it. And after I stopped, well, it stopped helping." He shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I have anger issues."

"Mm," Britta, answered in affirmation. "You should probably work on that."

"Yeah, I'll get right on it."

"So, how did you end up on the roof then?" she asked. As long as he kept talking she was sure everything would work out. Security or someone had to walk by at some point.

"Like I said, the middle bit is fuzzy. I remember waking up… and going to school. And then I remember Skeeper's –"

"You went to a bar?"

"Well, ya see," he began with a smile, bringing the bottle back to his lips, "I got rid of all the alcohol in my apartment because _I quit drinking_." He chuckled darkly against the lip of the bottle before taking a sip. "What a joke."

"So, after you left Skeeper's you came here?"

He squinted his eyes into the evening sky, thinking. "No, after I got _kicked out_ of Skeeper's I went to the liquor store next door, that for some stupid reason decided to sell to me."

Britta gaped at him. "You got kicked out of a bar?"

He shot her another dark humored grin. "That tends to happen after you try to start a bar fight. Management wasn't too happy with me. This was before the wall punching, so I had some, uh, pent up frustrations."

This was the kind of story that would normally make her regard a person with a modicum more respect. As someone who had started and broken up her own fair share of bar fights, she loved a good story, but under these particular circumstances it was hard to find this information anything but terrifying. Jeff had gone off the deep end for real.

He patted the pocket of his jeans, not paying the least bit of attention to the horror on his friend's face. "I have my keys on me," he continued. "So, I assume I drove here. Guess that was pretty stupid, huh?"

"And the ladder?" Britta asked distractedly, more out of her sense of needing to keep him talking than anything.

"Bribed a janitor," he said with a shrug. "And name-dropped Troy. His name carries a surprising amount of weight in some very interesting sectors of this school. One of these days I'll have to ask him about that… and then actually listen when he tells me."

So someone did know he was here! He'd asked a janitor for a ladder so they knew he was on campus! Britta's sudden joy slowly morphed back into despair as she realized that if a janitor had given a very drunk student a ladder with no questions asked, no one was going to be stopping by to check on them. If no one had stopped him from climbing onto the roof, if no one had stopped him from buying more alcohol, if no one had pulled him over on his way to the school, then luck was not on their side tonight. They were well and truly screwed.

"I was thinking too much," he said, his eyes focused somewhere in the distance. "I just wanted to not think for a while."

Britta looked over at Jeff beside her. He shrugged at her before dropping his attention to the mostly empty bottle in his hands, turning it back and forth like he was reading the label. "I just wanted to clear my head, you know? But it didn't work. You were all still in there." He pressed his finger against his temple. "You're all in there all the time now. Can't get away." He let his arm drop with a sigh. "Then at some point I think it turned into drinking to not exist."

Britta felt her stomach drop. "What?"

"Was that out loud?" he looked up at her with a sad half-smile. "Oops."

"What do you mean?" She knew you weren't supposed to press. She knew that there was a right and a wrong way to deal with someone who had just said what Jeff had said, but she needed clarification. She needed to know.

Instead of answering he lifted the bottle to his lips again. She snatched it roughly away from him. "Stop that!" she hissed. "They're already going to have to pump your stomach as it is. Let's not make their job any harder."

"They may not need to."

Again, the implication of his words made her head spin. "What does that mean?" she asked. "Did you just suggest –"

"Can I please have my drink back?" he interrupted, reaching across her for the bottle. She kept it just out of his reach.

Anger began to boil behind her ears. "Not if you're trying to drink yourself to death!"

"I don't know what I'm trying to do, okay?" he shouted back, his eyes suddenly much clearer than they had been all night. "Can't you just leave me alone! I didn't ask you to come here!"

"I know –"

"You don't have to pretend, you know?"

"I'm not –"

"It's okay that you don't want me around. I've come to terms with that. You're getting your way. Annie's safe now. So, you can leave me alone!"

Britta felt like she had fallen down the rabbit hole. Everything that she thought had been making sense was spiraling away from her. "Annie's safe?"

"You all were right, you know? I always knew that. I'm no good for her. But it's too late now."

"You're not making sense."

He shook his head. "I know I'm a shallow, manipulative, ego-maniac but it wasn't supposed to be like this. I could want her all I wanted, but the moment she wanted me back this became wrong. I'm bringing her down with me and I don't want that for her. I love her. I know how that sounds, but… I'm too far gone now. I was supposed to keep my distance. I had rules. And in that one moment of weakness I broke them. I caved. That's where this all becomes my fault. I let her in instead of letting her go and now I'm wholly incapable of letting go anymore. I'm entirely too selfish to do this the right way, so here I sit. Out of options. I got myself caught between a rock and hard place. And, as if that weren't bad enough, I also managed to lose you guys in the process."

Britta felt her breath catch in her chest. "I still don't understand," she admitted, leaning in closer to him. "Help me understand."

That dark smile crept back onto his face. "This ends one of two ways, Britta, and both of them involve her leaving me. Option one: We don't work out. She wises up to the fact that my life is going nowhere at an alarming rate and she bails before the crash, a smart move I might add. You'll all go with her because, as you have all made clear, you're on her side. I don't blame you for that, by the way, but it doesn't make it any less lonely over here in the land of uno.

"Option two: We work out for a while. Maybe we get married, maybe we have kids, then one day it all goes south. I am my father's son, after all. I'll be interested to see just how many of his same mistakes I'll make. I wonder if the abuse will start before or after the alcohol dependency. Statistically after, right? And since I'm already well on my way there, I'm guessing that next step isn't that far off."

"Jeff…"

"My father has another kid; did you know that? Of course you didn't know that. No one knows that." He lay back against the roof, his feet still dangling over the edge, his eyes on the sky. The moon was out by now. Its light reflected off his eyes, highlighting what looked like tears beginning to brim. This was so wrong. Jeff didn't cry like this. "I have a half-brother out there somewhere," he continued. "I wonder if I'll be fortunate enough to only ruin the lives of two children or if I'll beat his record." He paused. "Sorry, poor choice of words."

"Jeff…" she breathed, "you are not your father."

"You don't know what I am, Britta."

He scrubbed his uninjured fist across his eyes, taking a few shaky breaths before slamming his hands back down to his sides, palms flat against the roof. "Sorry about that," he apologized, his tone much less serious now. "Didn't mean to go all _Dawson's Creek_ on you. I didn't remember being this emotional of a drunk." He tried to push himself up but immediately collapsed, falling back onto the roof. He blinked dizzily up at the sky. "But I don't think I've ever been this drunk before. So, who knows."

Britta watched him for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened. She wasn't just seeing this entire situation with Annie in a new light, she was seeing _Jeff_ in a new light. "You really love her, don't you?" she asked quietly.

"I do." He turned his head in her direction. "Thanks for listening, by the way. I know you guys aren't my biggest fans right now, so it means a lot. Even if you didn't mean for it to."

Britta shook her head. "I'm not mad anymore. I'm not mad and I'm sorry I ever was. We just didn't get it. We should have listened but we didn't and I am so sorry."

He stared at her for a long time, his expression unreadable. For just a second, he looked like he wanted to respond, but then his face went blank. He shut down. He struggled up to a half-seated position, his weight on his elbows. "Where's my drink?"

She sighed in frustration. All that progress gone in an instant. "I'm not giving it back," she said. "I'm not going to just sit here while you drink yourself to death. If you really want to go out then you're gonna have to try harder than that." The regret was instantaneous. Even before Jeff had begun struggling to get his unsteady feet underneath him she regretted it.

She reacted on instinct. Her fingers had closed around his wrist and she'd jerked him back down to the relative safety of the roof before she'd even really registered what had almost happened. " _What are you doing?_ " she shouted over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

"Getting out from between the rock and the hard place."

"By jumping? By _dying_? That isn't an option and you know it!"

His sad, dark smile had made its return. "Technically –"

"No, not 'technically'! _It is not an option_! You're drunk and upset!" Yelling at him was getting them nowhere. His walls had gone up so tightly that she wasn't sure she could get them back down. He was growing paler by the second. Maybe she could just keep him still until he passed out. Then what? She'd sit up here with him while he slept it off? Her only other option was to calm him down enough that he'd be willing to leave the roof with her. "I still don't understand. If you love her then why –?"

"I don't want to die," he admitted, cutting her off. "I don't. But seeing as I can't reverse time or will myself into non-existence..."

"But aren't you trying to avoid hurting her? Because that's what your death would do, you know that right?"

"There's no scenario where she doesn't end up hurt. At least in this one I don't have to watch it happen."

Britta flinched. "But it _will_ happen and it _will_ be your fault. She deserves better than that, Jeff! She deserves a choice. Because you could be wrong! You and Annie could work out just fine! And if you don't, I promise you that it will hurt her a hell of a lot less than having to bury you will! You can't do that to her. You can't do that to _us_!"

Jeff's eyes shot to her face, searching for lies that were not there. Britta had him now. She'd found the right words. "Jeff, I don't know if it makes any difference, but I won't choose her over you. If this all ends poorly, I'll still be your friend. I will never stop being your friend. You're only alone if you want to be. I'm really sorry that it took all of this for me to hear you, but I'm listening now."

He shakily pushed away from her, the movement making his face turn another shade lighter. He was still watching her, thinking hard. Finally, after a long, tense moment, he nodded.

Britta sighed in relief, sagging sideways onto the roof. Her hands were shaking, adrenaline still filling her veins. "Can we get the fuck down from here now?"

Jeff dragged himself to the top of the ladder and looked weakly down at the ground below them. "You'd better help me down then. Otherwise all those pretty speeches are gonna be for nothing."

She somehow managed to help him down the ladder and all the way into her car, his shuffling footsteps echoing off the buildings. He was fading fast. He slumped forward in the seat, his face in his hands. "I do not feel well."

"That's probably because of the liquor store you drank. Sit back and put your seatbelt on. We'll get you home."

"No, I _really_ don't feel well…"

She looked at him closely, in the light of her car she could see just how horrible he actually looked. Pale didn't even begin to cover it, more like deathly white, his lips almost seemed to be tinged with blue. She remembered their exchange when she'd first found him and now it was her turn to go pale. _Are you drunk? Dangerously so._ "Shit…"

"Britta? I'm sorry –"

Before she could ask what for he retched, black bile spewing from his mouth and nose and splashing into the floorboard of her car.


	4. Chapter 4

4

A slow awareness was washing over Jeff and he very much wished it wasn't. His whole body hurt. It was like having the flu only it was a million times worse. He felt like he'd been run over by an eighteen-wheeler. Twice. His eyes were closed but the light shining through his eyelids was still too bright, sending pain radiating to the back of his head. He shifted, hoping to ease the pain, only to discover that he was lying down in a bed that definitely wasn't his. It was too uncomfortable. The sheets were thin and scratchy and the pillow sucked.

"Annie's gonna be pissed that she wasn't here when you woke up," a familiar voice said. "She literally just left. She went to get coffee. You've been out for hours, by the way."

Jeff tried to sit up but could only manage to push himself up onto his elbows. The pain in his head was far more blinding than the bright, florescent overheads had been. It made his stomach churn. He brought the fingers of his left hand up to the bridge of his nose and froze, his eyes springing open. He looked down, turning his hand back and forth as best he could, taking in the thick white cast that was currently rendering his wrist and three of his fingers completely immobile.

"Told you it was broken."

He turned to look at the voice. Britta was seated in one of two chairs pulled up to his bedside, watching him closely. One look at her and large chucks of the night before came flooding back. The bar, his apartment, the roof. He groaned and collapsed back against his pillow, bringing his good hand up to rest against his eyes, blocking out the light. He heard something rattle beside the bed as he moved and felt something brush against the back of his arm. He didn't even have to look. He knew it was an IV. He was in the hospital.

"Hey, it could be worse," Britta said. "You could be dead."

He was upright in a flash, ignoring his body screaming with pain, and locked eyes with Britta, her words tugging another horrifying memory to the surface.

"I didn't tell the doctors about the roof," she said, settling back in her chair and averting her eyes. "I should have, but I didn't. No one knows."

He let out a breath that he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"Except Annie."

Jeff's spine went stiff. "You told –" Jeff cut himself off with a wince as pain lanced through his throat. How did literally every part of him hurt?

"Oh, yeah. You might want to take it easy with the speech-making. Throat might be a little sore. I've heard that can happen with intubation."

Jeff balked, looking over at Britta with wide eyes. Intubation? What the hell?

"In case the doctors forget to tell you, I'll go ahead and say it: You're an idiot who is very lucky to be alive."

He dropped his eyes from Britta's face, looking down at himself where he sat in his hospital bed, attached to machinery by tubes and wires. He felt his face grow hot. He hadn't meant to let it get to this.

"Britta…" he started to speak, his voice coming out as a croak.

Before he could even think of anything to say, the door to his room opened and the sound of Annie's gasp drew his attention. "Jeff?"

"And that's my cue," Britta said, getting to her feet and beginning to move towards the door. "I'll go tell the others that you're awake now."

Jeff furrowed his brow. "The others?"

"How long has he been awake?" Annie interrupted, grabbing Britta's arm as she passed.

"Just a few minutes," she answered. "Don't worry, I kept him company. Made sure he didn't miss you too much."

Annie threw her arms around the older woman and Britta returned the embrace, whispering something in her ear as they separated. Britta waved to him once before she stepped out of the room and into the hallway, leaving him and Annie alone.

A long, awkward silence passed between them as she stood alone near the doorway. Slowly she crossed the room and stood by the edge of his bed. Her eyes were down, watching her fingertips smooth out a wrinkle in his bedding. She didn't know what to say and neither did he. He'd been so lost in his own head that he had never once thought about what having to face her would be like. And Britta had told her everything. From what little he could remember, he knew that was not a good thing.

"So, how was your night?" he asked, shattering the silence.

Her answering glare could have scared Medusa herself. Jeff, however, grinned. One surefire way to break the ice was bringing in some levity with some of his inappropriately timed humor. A long-standing tradition at this point. They'd be back to playful bickering before he knew it.

"Britta told me what you said."

Ah. Okay. Skipping the playful bickering, then. "I know."

She looked into his eyes, watching him closely. "Idiot."

Despite himself, he felt his lips tug towards a smile. "Well, at least that's one thing we can agree on."

"Jeff," he could tell she meant to say his name as a warning, wanting him to be serious, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

He reached out with his uninjured arm and pulled her to him. She hesitated before climbing onto the bed beside him, curling into him, her face buried in his shoulder. She was quiet for a moment, breathing softly until he felt her breath catch, her exhale coming out as a sob. He could feel her tears through the fabric of his gown. That burn in his chest was back in full force. He held her against him, awkwardly trying to comfort her despite his IV and cast.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm so sorry. I know that doesn't fix it, but I'm sorry. I don't have the words to – I can't even begin to justify it. I was being stupid."

Her fingers fisted the material of his hospital gown, holding on tightly. "Don't ever do that to me again."

"Never," he said into her hair. He'd learned his lesson. If there was anything he could do to keep her from ever crying like this again, he would do it. He would drag himself through hot coals if that's what it took.

"I just panicked," he said. He didn't know if explaining would help or hurt but he didn't know what else to do. "It's like I got stuck in this loop in my head and I couldn't imagine a single good outcome. I just kept drinking and the more I drank the more I felt like my dad, and the more I thought about becoming him the more I couldn't stop thinking that this relationship was a huge mistake. I don't want to be that person. I don't want to hurt you. I just couldn't help thinking that you'd be better off without me –"

"Don't _do_ that," she interrupted, sitting up and hitting him weakly on the chest. "Don't make decisions for me! I'm not a kid!"

"I know that!"

"If you think something is a mistake then _talk_ to me about it!" she said, hitting him again. "You think you know everything but you _don't_!"

He sat there looking at her, his mind in a rush. There was something that he needed to say but his words were starting to fail him. Even after everything, this was still hard for him. He was actively having to fight the instinct to laugh it off, to push everything to the back of his mind, but his revelation from the morning before was weighing heavy on his tongue. "Annie, I love you," he said, letting the words tumble out before he could second-guess himself. "I love you and I came dangerously close to never being able to tell you that. I thought I was protecting you by taking your vote away but it was a stupid idea. I promise not to do that again. Your choice will always matter to me."

She froze, her eyes on his. She sat on the bed facing him, her fist still resting against the spot she had hit him. Her fingers slowly unfurled, flattening her palm against his chest and gently resting it there. She leaned forward to press her face into his shoulder again, her breath hitching. "I love you too, you stupid, selfish, ass!"

He grinned despite her tears and wrapped his arms around her. "And to think, all of this could have been avoided if I could just stop being so emotionally inept."

Her fist collided with his shoulder. "I could just kill you sometimes, Jeff Winger."

"I could, too." There was that inappropriate humor rearing its ugly head again.

She landed another punch, much harder this time. "Sorry, bad joke?" She didn't need to respond. The stinging sensation in his shoulder was all the answer he needed. He tightened his hold on her, smiling into her hair.

A knock at the door interrupted their embrace. Annie sat up quickly, hurriedly drying her eyes as the door opened a crack and a man peeked in. "Knock, knock," he announced as he stepped into the room. He was in a suit and long white lab coat, a stethoscope around his neck just like the doctors on TV. "Your friend mentioned that you were awake. Thought I'd come introduce myself and see if you had any questions." He stepped up to the bed and offered out a hand for Jeff to take. "I'm Dr. Richard Wiley." He acknowledged Annie with a soft smile before turning back to Jeff and asking, "How are you feeling?"

Jeff made a face. "I've never wondered what crash test dummies felt like before and now I don't have to."

Dr. Wiley smiled ruefully. "I figured as much. You had quite the party last night."

Jeff averted his eyes. "Yeah, well, you can believe me when I say _that's_ never gonna happen again."

"Glad to hear it. Especially since it's my professional recommendation that you lay off alcohol for at least three weeks, if not more." He glanced at Annie and then at Jeff. "Do you mind if we discuss some things? Or would you rather I come back later?"

"We can talk," Jeff said. He shot Annie a small smile. "I don't mind if she hears."

The doctor nodded. "Alright then. I don't know how much you know, so I'll start from the beginning: You were admitted to the hospital early last night and diagnosed with acute alcohol poisoning. You were unconscious upon arrival and while under observation you started experiencing some issues with breathing. Because there was still a risk of vomiting, administering oxygen with a face mask was a choking hazard, so you were briefly intubated. If you're throat's a little sore –"

"Way ahead of you, doc," Jeff said, his fingers going briefly to his throat.

The doctor nodded. "Fluids will help," he said. "As will keeping speaking to a minimum."

Jeff smiled down at Annie. "Lucky you," he said before he'd taken in her appearance. She was stiff beside him, several shades paler than she had been moments before.

"You okay?" he started to ask, but she got up from the bed quickly before he'd finished, not meeting his eye.

"Excuse me," she said, stepping away from him. "I think I should go check in with everyone. They'll want to know you're okay."

He reached for her but stopped himself, his hand hung in the air between them for a moment before he let it drop. All of this was clearly taking a toll on her. If he was hating every word of this, then it was probably even worse for her. If she needed to leave then he wasn't going to stop her. "Everyone?" he questioned.

She shot him a small smile on her way out the door. "You didn't really think the Greendale Seven would leave one of their own in the hospital without visitors, did you?"

The last thing Annie must have seen as she stepped out into the hallway was his shocked expression.

* * *

"Britta –"

"No."

Shirley sighed and leaned back in her chair. They were all gathered in the waiting room at Greendale Memorial, taking up an impressive number of seats. They'd been there for hours and they still knew almost nothing. When they'd arrived, Britta and Annie were already with Jeff. The doctors had imposed a two guest maximum rule while Jeff was still unconscious, so the only thing they had been able to do was sit and wait. No one would tell them anything either. Apparently their definition of family didn't quite match the hospital's. Everything they knew had come in the form of the jumbled voicemail Britta had left them. Jeff had been drinking and was now in the hospital and Britta had been the one to find him. When Britta had joined them in the waiting room they had expected to get answers, but she was being frustratingly tightlipped. All she would tell them is that he was awake now.

"What if we just keep it between us?" Pierce suggested.

Everyone shot him dubious looks. "Yeah, us and thirty-eight of your Twitter followers," Britta snorted.

"Fifty-eight," Pierce corrected her.

Britta rolled her eyes in response. "Sorry."

"What if you just didn't tell Pierce?" Troy suggested. "The rest of us can be trusted. It's not like the rest of us just say whatever we're thinking out loud. Like, I would never just say that I think Britta's looking really good in those jeans today –" He paused, glancing up at the ceiling as he thought about what he'd just said. "Yeah, maybe don't tell me either?"

"I'm not telling anyone anything," Britta said. "If they want you to know they'll tell you."

"They?" Shirley asked.

"Jeff and Annie."

"Annie knows?" Troy asked.

Britta huffed in frustration. "Of course Annie knows. Why wouldn't she? That's her boyfriend in there. It's their business."

Shirley's reaction was involuntary, her eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise before she quickly controlled her expression. Last she'd checked, Britta was still against this particular union. She had been the one to find Jeff and the one who had been alone with Annie for hours. She obviously knew more about this whole situation than she was letting on. Something must have happened between her finding Jeff and now to make things suddenly so different.

"Britta, please," Shirley said softly. She wanted to know what was going on. Not only with the shift in dynamics but also with her friend. It didn't matter that she was upset with Jeff, after three years of friendship, she wasn't going to just stop caring.

"We should have just listened to them from the beginning and stayed out of it," Britta said, "so that's what I'm gonna do. I'm not getting any more involved than I already am so please stop asking."

"Annie!" Troy suddenly called out, causing everyone to turn. Annie had just appeared around the corner. She looked drained. They could tell she'd been crying.

"Is he –" Troy hesitantly began to ask.

Annie shook her head, a soft smile on her lips. "He's going to be fine."

The group let out a collective breath, seeming to all relax back into their chairs at once.

"What happened?" Shirley asked, getting to her feet and moving closer to Annie. Britta hastily shot her a warning look, but Shirley brushed it off. She wanted to know.

Annie looked confused for a second, quickly glancing over at the blonde. She had apparently expected Britta to have told everyone. "Um," she said, averting her eyes, "He just drank too much, I guess."

There had to be more to it than that. People didn't end up in the hospital because they'd had a little too much to drink. "Well," Shirley began slowly, "you told us you thought he'd been drinking, but…" She trailed off as Annie's eyes began filling with tears.

Annie stepped forward and leaned into Shirley, her shoulders tense. "He was so sick," Annie said, her voice was strained. "The doctor started talking and I – They had to put a tube down his throat! He almost stopped breathing! He could have – He –" She cut herself off with a choking sound as she tried to control her breathing.

Shirley looked up from the young woman in her arms and could see her own shock mirrored in her friend's faces. Obviously people didn't end up in the hospital for nothing, but they hadn't expected to hear that it had been such a life threatening situation. If Britta hadn't found him… Shirley's eyes found Britta and she could understand the tired, haunted look that ghosted just behind her eyes.

"But he's okay?" Abed asked.

Annie stood up straighter and nodded, wiping the tear tracks from her face. "He's going to be fine. He just needs fluids and rest now, I think. And he's in a cast."

"A cast?" Shirley asked, unable to connect those dots.

Annie flinched as if she were remembering something painful. Britta answered for her. "He punched a wall. Turns out Winger had quite the adventure without us."

Annie shot her a look.

"Misadventure?" Britta suggested. Annie still didn't seem happy with the word choice. Britta turned back to the group. "He went through some shit without us."

Annie collapsed into a nearby chair. She looked exhausted. She must have been here all night. Something about Annie's expression made Shirley begin to realize something. The time for protecting her had long since passed. This whole time she'd been thinking this would all blow over, like it was just a fling for them both, but no. Annie hadn't just been charmed by Jeff, she had fallen for him. Maybe Abed had been right.

"I trust him with her," Britta whispered softly, speaking only to Shirley. Shirley tore her eyes away from the brunette, turning to look at Britta. "And I think you should, too."

* * *

Half an hour later, the door to Jeff's room opened again. This time it was Annie's smiling face that peeked in. "Feeling up to some visitors?" she asked.

Jeff swallowed nervously. "Visitor _s_? As in, plural?"

The door swung all the way open and the room was suddenly full of voices and noise.

"Jeffery!"

"Dude, we're so glad that you're okay!"

"Hey, Jeff."

"You look terrible."

His study group crammed into his tiny hospital room and crowded around his bed, all looking pleased to see him. It made his head swim. Britta being nice to him was one thing, but this was way more than he had expected. Not so soon at least. He figured it would take time for everyone to come around to being okay with him again. He had been counting on it, actually.

"How are you doing?" Shirley asked.

"Yeah, what'd the doc say?" Troy added.

Jeff was still looking around at all of their faces, feeling lost. "Um. Acute alcohol poisoning, but no lasting effects. Hangover from hell, though."

"And your hand?"

He glanced down at his cast. "In laymen's terms it's a boxer's fracture."

"Badass!" Pierce said with a grin.

Jeff allowed a half smile at the older man. "Yeah, I really taught that wall a lesson. Totally worth three weeks in a cast."

There was a beat before Troy asked, "So, when can we spring you?"

"I'm free to go tomorrow," Jeff replied then shook his IV at them. "I'll be all rehydrated by then."

"Party tomorrow?" Abed suggested. "Our place?"

"An alcohol- _free_ party," Shirley added.

Britta grinned teasingly. "Yeah. Give that liver of yours a well-deserved break."

Jeff closed his eyes in disgust. "Ugh, don't even mention alcohol. Even the thought of drinking makes me want to hurl."

"Speaking of which –" Britta began.

Oh, no. Another memory. Jeff shot her a sheepish smile. "Uh, I guess I owe you a detailing for your car."

"Detailing? Oh, no. You owe me new upholstery."

He flinched. "That bad?"

"Your audition for _The Exorcist_ would have been perfect, only I think that being _actually_ possessed is considered cheating."

Jeff wanted to argue, but then he remembered that he probably did owe Britta his life. Yikes. That's not a situation he ever thought he'd have to deal with. "Alright, fine," he sighed. "I'll consider getting you new upholstery. Within reason. You did, you know, help me. So –"

He realized the danger of what he'd said as soon as the words had left his mouth. Her eyes widened, a huge smile forming on her face. "I helped you?"

"In the physical sense that you drove me to the hospital!" he added quickly, trying to backpedal while he still could.

She shot him a meaningful look and he groaned, throwing himself back against his pillow in defeat. "Ugh. And also in the mental sense." Owing Britta was going to suck.

She danced around happily while everyone but Annie looked on in confusion. They still didn't know. Finally, she stopped and grinned at him. "Okay, Winger, how's this: I'd be okay with just a detailing, as long as you also agree to a one-on-one therapy session with yours truly."

Jeff reached behind him and pulled his pillow up over his head so that it covered his face. " _Fine_ ," he groaned into the pillow. "Whatever you want!"

She continued celebrating until an annoyed orderly came to kick them all out. They didn't seem to mind much though. They would all see him tomorrow at his alcohol-free "Welcome to Sobriety" party.

* * *

The whole study group was seated around the table at Troy, Abed, and Annie's apartment. Music was playing in the background as they talked. Surprisingly, Jeff was actually having a pretty good time. It was amazing how easy it was to fall back into rhythm with everyone. He still felt a small kernel of anxiety deep in the pit of his stomach, but it was easy to ignore. Everything was fine now. There was no reason to be afraid.

His friends had been true to their word. The party was alcohol-free, but that didn't stop them from messing with him. Troy and Britta were currently seated across from each other playing quarters with shots of water as a joke. It wasn't that funny.

"Should we play soda pong next?" Britta suggested as she bounced her quarter, missing the shot glass by a laughably wide margin.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "I appreciate the commitment to the bit, but you can stop now. The anti-drinking games stopped being funny a while ago."

"But it's a theme party," Troy said taking his turn to shoot, bouncing the quarter directly into the glass. "Ha! Drink!" he shouted, pointing triumphantly at Britta.

"We could move on to my portion of the evening," Abed suggested. "I've come up with a selection of movies and shows that fit the theme. We can start with the _Buffy_ episode 'Beer Bad'."

"Good show, terrible episode," Jeff said with a shake of his head. "Not everything has to be themed, you know. Isn't this just a little overboard?"

"This is nothing," Annie said with a mischievous grin. "Just wait until you see what I have planned for your graduation party. I'll give you a hint: I'll need a florist."

Jeff groaned. "Annie –"

"Shouldn't we have a joint party?" Shirley asked. "The plan is to all graduate together, right?"

Jeff and Annie made quick eye contact and that anxious feeling in his stomach became more prominent. "Um." Jeff turned to Shirley, trying appear casual. He had forgotten that with all the drama going on that he'd never actually told anyone but Annie about his impending graduation. "Well, I took some extra classes online and I'm just this history credit away from graduating. So, no."

Everyone went quiet and stared at him in shock. Jeff started to feel the stable footing he'd regained shift out from under him.

"You're graduating early? Without us?" Pierce asked. "What are we? Chopped liver?"

"It's not that big of a deal –" Jeff started to say, but Abed interrupted him.

"That does fit with this show's established format. How does this season work if you leave early? Do we get a mid-season replacement Jeff?"

"Were you even going to tell us?" Troy asked, sounding hurt.

Jeff found himself standing up. He didn't remember getting to his feet. It's like his body was reacting on its own.

"Jeff?"

He couldn't tell who had spoken. There was a rushing sound in his ears that was drowning them out. That tiny kernel of anxiety had grown and was now threatening to overtake him. His fight or flight instinct kicked into gear and he was choosing what seemed like the only logical choice: Flight.

"Jeff." He was halfway to the door when Annie's hand was suddenly in his. She was leading him towards her bedroom door. His eyes widened and he tried to pull her to a stop. He needed to leave. Now. But it felt like he was drowning, submerged in water. He was powerless.

As soon as they were behind Annie's closed door, his panic engulfed him. He collapsed onto the edge of her bed and put his head between his knees, trying to control his lungs. He couldn't breathe. He could hear Annie speaking but he couldn't understand her. "I can't – Breathe –" he gasped at her. "I think – I'm dying."

Annie's face appeared in front of him. She was kneeling on the ground so that she was eye level with him. "Look at me," she said calmly. "You're having an anxiety attack. You're going to be fine, I promise. Just breathe with me, okay?" He nodded, still fighting for air. "Deep breath in through your nose," she instructed before she inhaled and he tried to copy her. "Big breath out through your mouth…" He obeyed. "Good. In… Out…" Deep breath in, big breath out.

Despite her coaching, he couldn't seem to gain control. It was like his body was actively trying to kill him. Not that he could blame it after everything he had put it through. "I like your shirt," Annie suddenly announced. He wanted to ask what that had to do with anything but he couldn't muster the energy. All of his concentration was focused on not passing out from lack of oxygen. "Where'd you get it?"

Oh. She was trying to distract him. "Gap," he panted.

"I like Gap. They've got cute stuff sometimes. You look nice in plaid, by the way," she said, referring to his shirt. "But of course, you know that. You wouldn't own so many plaid shirts if you didn't. Not that I'm complaining."

He laughed breathlessly, a weak smile working its way onto his face. He closed his eyes and leaned forward so that his forehead rested against hers, still breathing in and out, slowly and deliberately. It felt like an eternity had passed since they'd entered her bedroom, but he could finally feel himself beginning to calm down.

"You seem better." Jeff nodded stiffly in response, his muscles still tense. Her voice was coming through more clearly now. "Water might help," she said. "Will you be okay by yourself for a second?"

He nodded again. She touched him reassuringly on the shoulder before she left, quietly closing the door behind her.

"You guys should probably go home now," Annie said, her voice muffled through the door. Her tone was dismissive. All the party guests were apparently still here.

Shirley's voice was the first to respond. "But Jeff –"

"Is fine," Annie cut her off.

"He didn't look fine," Britta noted.

Annie huffed in mild frustration. He could tell she didn't want to talk about it. She just wanted them gone. "It was probably an anxiety attack. It's over now. So, you can –"

"Why did he have an anxiety attack?" Abed quickly questioned.

Annie hesitated. "I think Jeff is afraid of losing you guys," she said, her voice much quieter now, like she knew Jeff might be able to hear. He leaned closer to the door, trying to keep listening. "You know how important being a lawyer is to him. He took the initiative to take all those extra classes. You can't just be proud of him?"

There was a beat of silence then Annie spoke again, back to her dismissive tone, "Goodnight, everyone."

"Doesn't Jeff need a ride home?" Britta asked. "He doesn't have his car."

"I'll take care of it. We'll see you tomorrow."

Jeff quickly readjusted so that it didn't seem like he'd been eavesdropping. Annie walked in moments later, a glass of water in her hand. He accepted it from her gratefully.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Better?"

He nodded. "Thanks for your help," he said, awkwardly keeping his eyes on his water glass. He didn't like feeling this vulnerable. After a short pause, he looked up at her curiously. "How is it that you always know what to do?"

She climbed onto the bed beside him, sitting cross-legged on the mattress so that she could face him. "I'm an anxiety attack expert. I used to get them all the time."

"Really?"

She smiled. "Sure. Little Annie Adderall could whip herself into a fairly respectable panic when the situation called for it."

Jeff smiled back. "You know, I believe that," he said, nudging his knee playfully against hers.

He watched her smile at him, her eyes shining with humor. It was so easy to forget that Annie had been through so much in her life. She was always so cheerfully optimistic. He felt that warmth swelling in his chest again. "I think I figured it out," he announced before pausing, his brain catching up to his lips. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Figured what out?"

"When I first started falling for you." Annie's face echoed his own surprise. He hadn't meant to say any of that, but now he had to commit to it. "It was after you kissed me at the debate. I'd, uh, _noticed_ you before that, even though I tried very hard not to. But when you kissed me? I think that was the point of no return. I just didn't know it yet."

She held his gaze for a long moment, her eyes sparkling, before moving forward, closing the distance between them to press a lingering kiss to his lips. His breath caught in his throat. "I love you, Jeff Winger," she breathed against his lips.

He pulled away so that he could look into her eyes, reaching out to brush his fingers against her cheek. "I am in love with you, Annie Edison."

"Stay here tonight," she said. "I can drive us to school tomorrow."

Jeff hesitated. The last time they'd stayed the night together things hadn't turned out so well. "I don't know…"

"Please? I think we both need it."

She wasn't wrong. Her presence was more reassuring than she could know. After a moment of thought, he agreed. "Alright." He found himself unconsciously mirroring her answering grin and shook his head, getting to his feet. "Bedtime?" he asked, offering his hand out to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

When they separated Annie went to her wardrobe, changing into her blue plaid pajamas. Jeff hesitated, realizing that he had nothing to change into. He'd never stayed at her place before for obvious reasons. "Um, maybe I should go home after all," he said. "I don't have any stuff here."

Annie rolled her eyes. "You can sleep in your boxers," she pointed out, then coyly added, "It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before."

It took Jeff a couple blinks to regain function of his brain. "But what about tomorrow?" If he wore the same clothes twice in a row it would once again be obvious that they'd stayed the night together. Despite him being decidedly against anything happening tonight, it wouldn't change the assumption their friends would make. He wasn't in any hurry to repeat that experience. But he also wasn't in any hurry to get home. The thought of the mess that he'd left behind for himself made him feel even more worn-out than he already did.

Annie didn't seem concerned, however. She reached into her closet and pulled out the dark blue button-up she'd borrowed from him before. "You can wear this. See? Nothing to worry about."

She climbed into bed and patted the spot beside her encouragingly. Jeff sighed and stripped down to his underwear, joining her in bed. He'd never felt so mentally exhausted in his life, but as soon as he laid down he knew that his brain was too busy to fall asleep. His stomach clenched at the very idea of going to school tomorrow. He closed his eyes but they immediately sprung back open, staring at Annie's darkened walls. He was not going to get any sleep tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Annie tried to fight off waking for as long as possible, but her body was having none of it. It was ready for her to be up. By the light filtering through her window she could tell it was morning, but it must be early. Her alarm hadn't even gone off yet. She stretched out beneath the sheets. She had completely forgotten that she was sharing her bed until her fingers brushed against skin. "Oh!" Beside her Jeff was watching her with a small, amused smile. He'd seen her scare herself.

"Good morning," she greeted through a slight blush. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No," he turned his attention to the ceiling. He was lying on his back, his hands folded across his stomach. "I was already awake."

She sat up to get a better look at him. His eyes were glassy, focused somewhere far away as if he were staring right through the ceiling. "Did you even sleep at all?" she asked.

"A little," he sighed, blinking her into focus as he sat up beside her. "Couldn't seem to stay asleep."

She reached out and gently brushed her thumb along the circles that were beginning to form under his eyes. "I can tell. You've looked better."

"Ugh." He ducked away from her and threw the blanket off himself, getting to his feet. "Don't say that! I'm nervous enough as it is. I don't want to be worried about how I look, too."

"Why are you nervous?"

He kept his eyes down and began gathering together his clothing from the night before, his movements fidgety and unsure.

"You're nervous about school," she guessed, watching him step into his jeans. He was trying not to look at her. She sat back and watched as he got ready, waiting until he was sliding his arms into his blue button-up before she got out of bed. She stepped up to him and helped him get his cast through the sleeve, rolling the fabric up to just below his elbow. "This is a loaner, by the way. I want it back."

He finally cracked a smile, meeting her eyes. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured, slowly doing up the front buttons. When he'd finally finished, he sighed, leaning against the wall to look at her. "You were right. I'm nervous about school," he confirmed. "More specifically I'm nervous about –" he gestured at her door in the direction of the common area. "Them. I have no interest in a repeat of last night."

"They'll behave," Annie said.

Jeff smiled ruefully. "I'm sure they will. But that's what I'm afraid of."

"Not sure I'm following."

"I'm scared of spending my last semester with people that I care about but who are only tolerating my presence because of you."

Annie reached up and laced her fingers behind his neck with a gentle smile. "That's not going to–"

"Let's go get breakfast since we're up so early," Jeff interrupted, shrugging out of her embrace.

Annie stood there in confusion, trying not to feel wounded. It took her a second to realize what had just happened. The last time she'd assured him that their friends would behave she had been very wrong. He'd never confirmed that her overconfidence had made things worse for him, but now she didn't have to wonder. He was afraid to get his hopes up again. He'd unwittingly trusted their friends to be accepting of him in situations he was anxious about twice now, and both times had ended with dramatic results.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Optimistic to a fault, aren't I?"

He looked guiltily at her for a second before stooping down to place a kiss on the crown of her head. "Not to a fault. I'm just trying to keep a handle on things the only way I know how. It's just better for me to keep being my jaded, pessimistic self than risk hoping for something that won't happen."

She wanted to argue, her optimistic side coming out again, but she bit her tongue. Instead she said, "Okay, breakfast it is."

* * *

Jeff and Annie were once again early to study group, a habit Annie hoped to keep up but one Jeff could do without. Annie liked the extra time it gave her. Being in the library without distraction was a huge boost to her productivity. Given the choice, Jeff would rather sleep in.

Jeff took his seat and immediately got out his phone, glued to the thing as usual. Annie, however, was looking forward to getting caught up on some school work. The past few days had been hectic to say the absolute least and she hadn't had much of a chance to get her work done. It was stressing her out to be so far behind, and by 'behind' she meant 'not ahead'.

Several minutes into reorganizing her planner, she looked up to ask Jeff a question but stopped herself short. He had his head down on the table, eyes closed, breathing steadily. He had fallen asleep. That was good, though. He needed it.

She watched him sleep for a moment, eyes sweeping over his face and before traveling to his plain white cast where it rested on the table beside him. That gave her an idea. She dug around in her bag for a Sharpie and quietly moved over to the empty chair between them. Very carefully she shifted his arm and scribbled her name along the back of his hand, finishing up by drawing a small heart with an arrow through it. Something to add a little pop of color.

She was retaking her seat when the others started trickling in. Pierce and Troy giggled at Jeff and joked about messing with him, but everyone let him sleep, which was sweet. When it was time to head to class, Britta gently shook him awake.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey."

Jeff shifted, scrunching his eyes up against the light for a second. He very much did not want to be awake. He felt the hand on his shoulder start to shake him again and he sat up to bat it away. It was Britta. When had she gotten here? He looked around the room and flinched a little as his neck caught. He brought his hand up to massage it. Falling asleep with his head at that angle probably hadn't been his best idea.

"While we all appreciate your dedication to crafting the perfect bedhead, we do have a class to attend," Britta smirked from beside him. The rest of their friends were already on their way out the door, headed for their history class. He'd slept through their morning meet up.

Jeff couldn't be bothered to come up with a sarcastic comeback. He still wasn't fully awake yet. His sleepless night had really taken its toll. Britta stayed with him as he slowly stood up and gathered his things. "We stopped Troy and Pierce from drawing a penis on your forehead, by the way."

"Thanks," he yawned. "Wanna do me another favor?"

"It depends."

"Just keep me from falling asleep in class. Cornwallis hates me enough as it is and for obvious reasons I'd like to pass his class."

"No problem," she replied, shooting him a teasing grin. "I'll get creative with it if I have to. When was the last time someone gave you a wet willy?"

Jeff narrowed his eyes at her. "Do it and you're dead."

She shrugged. "If you want someone to be nice about it, ask Shirley."

He glanced up at Shirley where she walked ahead of them in the hallway. He hadn't missed that everyone had left for class without him. "Yeah, I don't think Shirley's too interested in helping me right now."

Britta shot him an incredulous side-eyed look. "Shirley? Not wanting to help someone?"

"I didn't say 'someone'. I said 'me'."

Britta didn't immediately respond and Jeff kept his eyes forward, purposefully avoiding looking her way. They were just down the hall from Cornwallis' classroom and for once he couldn't wait for class. The sooner he got today over with, the better. He was already exhausted and it had nothing to do with lack of sleep.

"Jeff, I don't think –"

"Stop," he interrupted. "I really don't want to hear it."

She huffed. "Fine," she said snippily. "We'll just have to discuss it at our first official therapy session. This afternoon work for you?"

"Busy," Jeff half-lied. He did have his whole apartment to clean, which only marginally sounded more fun than sardonically enduring Britta's attempt at counseling.

They were five feet from the safety of the classroom door when their path was suddenly blocked by a bald man wearing a woman's nursing costume. Jeff closed his eyes to block out all the skin that was suddenly in front of him, but he could still see the Dean's pale thighs like sun-spots in his vision.

"Jeffery!" Dean Pelton cried out to him. "I heard you were in the hospital! Are you okay? Who hurt you?"

Jeff opened his eyes in time to see the Dean reaching for him. He was patting all over his chest and shoulders as if checking him for wounds. Jeff quickly sidestepped him as soon as he reached for his face. "I'm fine," Jeff said, batting the Dean's wandering hands away. "No one hurt me but me."

"I tried to visit but by the time I got there you had already been released!" The Dean caught sight of his cast and gasped. "Look at your poor, perfectly manicured hand! What happened?"

Jeff glanced down at his cast and did a double take. Right along the back of his hand, in purple marker, Annie's name was written in her thin, loopy handwriting. She must have signed it while he was asleep. "Um, I broke it," he said. "It's not a big deal."

"Well," the Dean said, drawing Jeff's attention back to him. "I'm sure it makes things difficult for you. I could come over to your place tonight and help you out around the house, maybe cook us a nice dinner –"

"Can't," Jeff interrupted. "I've already got plans with Britta. Sorry."

Britta shot him a smug look. "Do you, now?"

"Yes," Jeff replied, flashing her an irritated look. "Oh, and look at that," he said pretending to check his watch, "class is about to start. Gotta go."

He stepped around the Dean and crossed the threshold of the classroom door in three giant steps. He took his seat and dropped his head to his desk with a groan. Being therapized by Britta beat being hounded by a scantily clad Dean Pelton any day. But only just.

He felt movement behind him and without even looking he reached up and grabbed Britta's wrist, stopping her mid-reach as she went for a wet willy. "Do it and you die," he reminded her. "I do not mind breaking my other hand and you can take that for the threat it is."

"Just making sure you're awake," Britta replied with a smile. "Figured I'd keep my word since you're keeping yours."

"Ugh." Jeff dropped her arm in disgust and turned his attention to the front of the room where their professor was beginning the lesson. He meant to pay attention, but the sight of Annie three rows ahead distracted him. She always sat at the front of the room. He could see her already bent over her notebook, studiously taking notes as Cornwallis lectured. He watched her for a moment before looking down at his cast, tracing his fingers over the heart she had drawn beside her name. Without realizing it, Annie had provided him with the perfect way to get himself through the day. It was like a token to remind himself to be calm, to motivate him on to the next day and the next, even when the outlook sucked.

* * *

Jeff was at Annie's desk as soon as class ended, eager to get away from Britta and her scheming. "Walk you to class?"

Annie looked up at him with a grin. "You're getting better at the chivalry thing," she joked.

Jeff shrugged. "What can I say? I strive for perfection."

"Did I hear you say you were meeting with Britta tonight?" Annie asked as they made their way towards her class.

Jeff groaned. "I've unfortunately decided to be a man of my word. Part of the chivalry thing."

"Do you really think that's a good idea? Letting Britta play doctor like that?"

"Probably not," he allowed with a small smile. "But what's the worst she can do?"

She gave him a look. "We are talking about Britta, right?"

He laughed out loud, pulling her in for a hug as they stopped just outside her classroom door. "You're my favorite, you know that?"

"I had my suspicions," Annie replied with a grin. "But it's nice to have it confirmed."

Jeff was about to respond when he caught sight of her forensics professor over her head. His dark eyes were fixed on Jeff's. For a second he thought they were about to get chewed out for PDA again, but then the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

"What?" Annie asked, turning around to follow Jeff's eyeline but the professor had already moved away, leaving behind no evidence of the intense stare-down that had just passed between them.

"Something's up with that teacher of yours," Jeff muttered, still glaring at the man's back, unable to look away.

"Professor Videl?" she asked.

"Videl, Bundy, whatever."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Overreaction, much? He's just intense, that's all."

"I'll say." To Annie he was just being dramatic, but she hadn't seen the look this Videl guy had just given him. Intense was one way to put it, a challenge would be another. Jeff had the weirdest feeling about this guy and he did not like it. "Just do me a favor and watch out for him, okay?"

Annie studied his face for a moment before agreeing. "Okay."

* * *

After Jeff's last class, Annie walked him to the study room where Britta was waiting to begin their first, and hopefully only, therapy session. Being in Britta's debt was already tiresome and it had only just begun. The one good thing that had come from it, though, was having a friend that he felt comfortable enough with to let his guard down just a little. He'd never once in the past three years dreamed that there might be a day when being around the study group was more draining than being alone with Britta. Not that either option was at the top of his list at the moment, but if he had to choose…

"This is my stop," Jeff sighed as he and Annie came to a halt at the study room doors. Britta was seated on the couch across the room, watching them closely. Jeff purposefully turned his back to her but it didn't help much. He could still feel her watching.

"Oh, before I forget," Annie said quickly, digging into her backpack for something. "I took notes for you in history since your hand is pretty much useless in that thing," she said, gesturing to his cast before handing him a few pages of her neat, loopy handwriting.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he asked in genuine appreciation. She really was saving his ass with this. "I was trying to write with my right hand all day and it was not working out." He showed her his own notes as he tucked away the pages she'd given him. They'd yet to invent a word strong enough to describe how truly illegible his attempt at notetaking had been. Doctors envied his skill.

Annie squinted at the page. "Can you even read that?" When he shook his head she laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "At least you tried."

"Well," he said with a sigh, nodding in Britta's direction. "I should probably get this over with."

"Good luck," Annie teased. "Call me when you need a ride home."

"I'm sure I can con wanna-be-doctor Perry into giving me a lift." He stooped to give her a quick peck on the lips. "See you tomorrow."

Annie peered around Jeff to give Britta a quick wave goodbye before heading in the direction of the parking lot. Jeff watched her go, then, like the martyr he was, turned to face Counselor Perry, fake glasses and all.

"Hello, client," she greeted. She had dragged over a chair and was now seated across from the couch with a notepad in hand. She gestured at the couch, inviting him to take a seat.

"I'm not your client," Jeff muttered as he passed her.

"You are for today."

He rolled his eyes as he sat down, tossing his stuff to the side. Whatever.

"You're supposed to lay down."

He shot her a look. "Not gonna happen."

She glared back. "Fine. But I'm making a note of this."

"Oh, no. Not a note," he murmured as he pulled out his cell phone, his tone sarcastically fearful. Before he could even open Twitter, his phone was being snatched away. "Hey!"

"No phones," Britta said as she tucked it away in her jacket pocket. "You'll get it back after," she added before he could object. He scowled in response.

"So," she began, looking at him over the rim of her glasses. "How are you today?"

"Great. Never better," he responded.

"You know, therapy doesn't work if you aren't honest."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Could you please be serious?"

"Not when you're wearing those," he said, pointing to her face.

She glared at him as she removed her glasses with a frustrated huff and shoved them into her bag. "Happy now?"

"Completely happy," he answered. "In fact, I'm cured. Don't know why we didn't do this sooner."

She frowned at him, looking hurt. He sighed and leaned forward, elbows on knees. He hadn't meant to be quite that mean. He just didn't like this whole feeling vulnerable thing. He could feel that familiar magnetic pull stirring inside him and clenched his fist. Fuck. Maybe he did need help after all. "Sorry," he apologized, his eyes on the carpet. "I'll be good."

"Do you want to tell me about your day?" she asked. "Or are you going to be a dick about that question, too?"

Jeff flinched. Okay, he deserved that. "Today went fine. About how I expected."

There was a pause while she tried to decide if he was being serious or not. "What exactly did you expect?" she finally asked.

His resolve wavered. He really was trying to make an effort but opening up to her while sober was turning out to be difficult. "I expected to feel tolerated but not welcomed. I expected everyone to act like everything is normal even though we all know it isn't."

"And what isn't normal?"

"Me." He looked up to find Britta staring at him with her eyebrows furrowed, head cocked to the side. He shot her a tightlipped smile before explaining. "I can't just walk down the hall holding my girlfriend's hand like I want to because everyone will think I'm rubbing it in their faces. But I can't be too distant because then people will accuse me of ditching her now that I've 'gotten what I wanted'. I can't just act normal, because then no one will think I'm taking any of this as seriously as I should. But I can't _not_ act normal, because as far as any of them know, nothing more dramatic than drunken wall punching even happened. I'm walking a tightrope. Lean too far any one way and it all comes crashing down."

There was a long silence in which Britta watched him silently. She looked like she was fighting with herself. She was walking her own tightrope between therapist and friend. "That sounds hard," she finally said.

Jeff shrugged. "It's only until graduation. I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

"You think no one will talk to you after you graduate?"

"I _know_ no one will talk to me."

Another silence. "That's not true."

Jeff scoffed and glanced away. "You sound like Annie."

"Speaking of Annie," Britta said, her voice taking on a new tone, "I like the graffiti."

Jeff turned his attention back to her, attempting to connect those dots. "Huh?"

She dropped her eyes to his arm and inclined her head. He glanced down at his cast and her non-sequitur suddenly made sense. He'd been unknowingly tracing his fingers over the spot where Annie had signed it, the purple ink standing out against the white plaster. He tried pulling his sleeve down to cover the signature without much luck. "Annie did that this morning, I think." He was suddenly self-conscious about Britta having noticed.

"I see that no one else has signed it."

Jeff gave her an odd look. "No one else has asked to. Probably because this isn't the third grade."

"Hm." Britta turned her attention to her notepad and began scribbling across the page.

"Don't go 'hm' and then write something down like that was significant because it wasn't." She smiled at him over the top of her pad and he glared right back. "Let me see that!" he said, reaching for it but she pulled it away so that it was just out of his reach, the most infuriating grin plastered on her smug little face.

He crossed his arms and leaned back against the couch. "Whatever. Is my hour up yet?"

She glanced at the clock. "It can be," she said. "Unless you want to talk about your family."

"Pass," Jeff said, gathering up his books, getting ready to leave. He wanted to go home.

"Not even your dad?"

"Definite pass," he said, getting to his feet.

"Okay. What about your brother then?"

Jeff froze, immediately rooted to where he stood. "What?"

"Sorry, _half_ -brother," she corrected.

He watched her face closely. She had to be bluffing. She was just saying whatever it took to get him to stay. But guessing 'half-brother' was way too specific. He must have told her. He didn't remember telling her. Oh, God, what else had he told her.

"What's his name?" she asked as he slowly lowered himself back down to the couch.

"I don't know. Didn't ask. I don't even think William meant to tell me about him in the first place."

"You call your dad William?"

"Yes? What else would I call him?" Part of him wanted to stick around and find out what else she knew, but a larger part of him wanted to bolt. Even the idea of cleaning his apartment and fending off the Dean's offers to help sounded more appealing than staying here right now. "Hour's up." His voice sounded strange.

"I guess we can be done," she said. "For now. Need a ride?"

Jeff got to his feet again. "I'd rather walk."

She shrugged. "Fine by me. Gives me a chance to sit here and go over my notes for a bit." She lifted the notepad, tilting it so that he couldn't see what she had written. He wanted to be annoyed but he just couldn't seem to muster it. She held out his phone to him before he could ask, keeping her eyes on her notes. He snatched it from her and marched from the room without another word, heading for the nearest door.

He stepped out into the fresh air and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Being outside seemed to help clear his head a little. The evening was cool, but it didn't make the idea of walking home any more appealing. He'd told Britta that he'd rather walk, and while that was true, his lack of sleep was really beginning to hit him hard. He should probably call Annie.

"What are you still doing here?"

Jeff opened his eyes to find Pierce standing right beside him. Jeff glanced around, looking for someone else that Pierce must have been speaking to, but they were alone. Jeff pointed his thumb over his shoulder back towards the library, "I was getting my head shrunk by Britta," he answered.

"Huh. Well, you either took one for the team or made it worse for all of us. Either way, better you than me."

"Well, either you're welcome or I'm sorry."

Pierce stood next to him in silence for a moment, looking like he was waiting for something. "And you're just standing out here because…"

Oh. "I don't have my car. I was going to call – uh, someone for a ride."

"Annie?"

"Um," Jeff dropped his eyes to the phone in his hand, unlocking it quickly. "Yeah."

"Why don't I just give you a ride?" Pierce asked. "No need to bother her if she's already home." He started off towards the parking lot without waiting for a response.

"Right," Jeff said, hesitating a moment before putting his phone away and following after the older man, staying a few steps behind. "You sure?" He was positive he would come to regret this but he did need the ride.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Pierce asked as he unlocked his car, getting into the driver's seat. Jeff was already seated on the passenger side when he added, "Plus, this gives me a chance to talk to you man to man."

"Ah." Called it.

The first several minutes of the drive were silent save for the sounds of the road. As they were approaching Jeff's apartment, he was just beginning to think that maybe Pierce was going to let him go without having to endure that talk, but of course, that thought was too good to be true.

"You know, I don't have any kids of my own," Pierce said, speaking to the windshield as he drove. "Step-children, sure, but they never really stuck around. The study group is the only family I have left now, really."

Jeff silently side-eyed him, waiting for him to get to the point.

"What I'm trying to say, is that Annie is the closest thing I have to a daughter. I don't like seeing her upset. She didn't like the way we were treating you, so I backed off. But she's not here right now." They pulled into Jeff's apartment complex and Pierce shifted the car into park, twisting in his seat to meet Jeff's eye. "I'm not going to threaten you or anything, even though I could. All I'm going to say is that I need you to treat her right. She's a special one."

"She is special," Jeff agreed. "And she's special to me, too. I won't hurt her. You can have my word, if that helps."

Pierce nodded. "That's all I needed to say. Now, get out. All this mushy stuff makes me feel like you're gonna start kissing me or something."

"You're the one that brought it up!"

"Don't make me hit you."

Jeff got out of the car and slammed the door shut, glaring at Pierce through the window. "Thanks for the ride," he murmured to himself as he turned and stomped away towards his wreck of an apartment. Today had been weird.


	6. Chapter 6

6

"Class dismissed."

Annie's head snapped up. She looked at the clock then around at the other students who were already heading for the door. She hadn't meant to space out like that. She quickly packed up her books, closing her notebook on her half-written page of notes. She'd have to ask to borrow someone else's notes to fill in the blanks. That was going to be strange. Annie Edison never had to borrow notes. She was always the lender, not the lendee.

"Miss Edison." She was halfway to the door when her professor called her name. She tried not to flinch. Crap. He'd noticed how distracted she'd been today. It wasn't her fault, really. Jeff was skipping today for a doctor's appointment and she was just anxious to hear how he was doing. Not that she could use that as an excuse. No one at school, student or teacher, knew what had really gone down two weeks ago; How close she'd come to losing him. If she expressed concern about his well-being she'd just seem like an overly protective girlfriend. It was just a broken hand, after all.

"Yes, professor?" she answered nervously, turning towards him.

"No need to look so worried," Professor Videl said with a smile. The expression looked odd on his stern face. "You're not in trouble or anything. I was just going to see if you were interested in this," he said as he handed her a colorful printout. She took it from him and looked it over. _Wanted: Forensics department teacher's aide. No experience required._

"I see a lot of potential in you, Miss Edison," Videl said, watching her as she read over the flyer. "I think you and I would work well together."

She had at one point considered applying to be a TA. It would look great on her resume and Videl was a pretty big name in the world of forensic science. At least locally. But still, she hesitated to accept. Maybe Jeff's warning had gotten to her.

"It wouldn't interfere with your studies, if that's what you're worried about." He was smiling again and she kind of wished he wouldn't. No, that wasn't fair. Here he was offering her a job and she was judging him. "And it does pay a little. It would mostly just be helping me grade papers for my other classes." He paused. "Why don't you think it over and get back to me. I wanted to offer it to you first before I opened it up to the class."

She was his first pick? Well, that was flattering.

Videl was on his feet now, briefcase in hand. "Are you headed to lunch?" he asked. "I'm headed there myself. Allow me to escort you."

"Uh, sure."

They walked side by side down the hallway, Videl engaging her in conversation the whole way. At first the interaction seemed strange. She'd never really had a teacher take interest in her like this but she quickly fell into the rhythm of it. If she was seriously considering becoming his TA, she should get used to spending time with him. He came off a little creepy at first, but he wasn't that bad actually and it was nice to be taken seriously.

They were at the cafeteria before she knew it. He gestured for her to go first through the lunch line. She smiled and stepped ahead of him without much thought. When she reached the register, she dug in her bag for her wallet but Videl reached over her, handing the lunch lady his credit card, paying for both their meals.

Annie looked up at him. "You didn't have to do that," she said.

"I know," he replied, taking his card back. "I wanted to."

See? He really couldn't be that bad. Jeff was just overprotective. "Well, thank you." She started towards the table where her friends were already seated and waiting for her but stopped a few steps in, turning back towards him. "Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Edison?"

"I'll take the job," she said. "I'd love to be your TA."

He grinned. "Excellent. I'll have the paperwork ready for you by tomorrow."

She smiled and turned back to her friends, bouncing towards their table. She wasn't sure why it had taken her so long to make that decision. It was an amazing opportunity and she'd be nuts not to take it. Despite his warnings, there's no way Jeff wouldn't see this for the opportunity that it was.

* * *

"So, no more cast soon, huh? Gonna miss it?"

Jeff scoffed in response and Annie grinned. They were sitting together on Jeff's couch, her back against his side, his injured arm draped over her. She ran her fingers gently over the rough plaster. "No, I don't think I'll miss it either," she said. She knew his annoyance with it was more physical than emotional, but for her she would be glad to be rid of the constant reminder of what had almost been.

"Of course," he said, a smile in his voice, "just because the cast comes off doesn't mean I'll be healed. I might need some help with little stuff. Like note taking for example?"

Annie snorted. "Oh, I have faith that your ability to hold a pen hasn't degraded that much."

"We'll see." The confidence in his voice made her want to roll her eyes.

"I guess we will." She sat up and turned so that she was facing him, her legs crossed in front of her. "I've got good news, by the way."

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her, sitting forward with interest. "Do tell."

"I got a job."

Jeff looked surprised. "A job?"

"Mmhm. As a teacher's aide. It pays pretty much nothing, but I'm really doing it for the resume boost."

"Makes sense," he said with a nod. "And congratulations. Who's the lucky teacher?"

"Um," Annie hesitated, biting the inside of her lip. "Professor Videl?"

Jeff's smile faded completely. He narrowed his eyes at her. "When I told you to watch out for him I meant 'stay away from him', not 'take care of him'."

"I really don't get what your problem with him is."

Jeff paused for a moment, seeming to think his words over before answering. "He bugs me."

"He _bugs_ you? A guy you've never met bugs you?"

"Doesn't he give you the creeps, too?"

Now it was Annie's turn to hesitate. "He's also giving me a job," she finally answered.

"But he is creepy." Jeff sat forward, latching on to the part she had neglected to deny. She should have known that there was no talking around his questions.

"He's weird," she admitted. "But I need this job. I can take care of myself, so you don't have to worry about it, okay?"

He shook his head. "I can't just _not_ worry about it. You're too important to me."

Annie felt herself melt a little. He could be such a jerk sometimes, but he could also be the sweetest person she had ever known. "It'll be fine," she said, inching just a little closer to him. "This is a good thing. You'll see."

He stared into her eyes for a long moment, taking in her resolve before sighing in acceptance. He took her hands gently in his. "Thank you."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "For what?" she asked.

"For telling me about it. You could have hidden it from me but you didn't. I appreciate that."

"That's kinda how this whole relationship thing works," she said with a gently teasing smile. "Trust and honesty and all that."

Jeff took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Right. So, then I've got something to tell you, too."

There was a long pause before he continued. "I wasn't going to tell anyone yet," he said, his eyes on their clasped hands, "but apparently my lips are a lot looser when I'm drunk than I thought they were. Long story short: I have a brother. Well, a half-brother. I got in touch with my dad over the summer for whatever reason and he accidently let it slip. I didn't know until then. And apparently I told Britta on – uh, on that night. It just felt wrong having her know and not you. So, I wanted to tell you. Sorry it took me so long."

Annie watched him as he stared down at their entwined fingers, her mouth slightly open. She couldn't even imagine finding out she had a sibling she didn't know about. She squeezed his fingers gently. "It's okay," she said softly. "No need to apologize. I'm glad you told me." There was a short silence before she added, "Wow, a brother. That's gotta be weird."

A small smile touched his lips as he looked up at her. "Not nearly as weird as it should be."

Annie sat forward and threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging herself tightly to him. She just loved him so much. After everything they had both been through, were still going through, they'd found each other. Who cared what anyone else thought. They were meant to be.

"Now that the touchy-feely stuff is over, what do you want to do?" Jeff asked as they separated. "This _is_ still date night."

Annie grinned mischievously up at him. "There's always _Gilmore Girls_." Jeff groaned in response, leaning his head back against the couch cushions. Annie shook his arm, refusing to let him win. "Come on, you promised. All seven seasons."

He let out a defeated sigh and gestured at the television. "Alright, put it on."


	7. Chapter 7

7

Jeff sat in the Greendale cafeteria, his plate of wilted lettuce and hard-boiled eggs already in front of him. He tapped his fork restlessly against the table. Annie was late. Or rather, later than usual. She had to stay after class most days because of work, which would be fine except that it meant _he_ would be with her.

Jeff's expression darkened as Annie walked in with Videl at her side. The man never seemed to give her a moment alone. How he didn't make her skin crawl was beyond Jeff's comprehension. Greendale really had to be scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill staff positions if _that_ guy had passed an interview. He just screamed bad news.

Watching Annie and her professor interact was strange. He didn't want to be one of those creepy, jealous boyfriends, but he couldn't seem to stop. He trusted her implicitly. Videl however…

Class had gone extremely well today and so had her meeting with Videl. One week into being a teacher's aide and Annie already felt comfortable with the work. It was demanding but she liked that. It kept her busy. It had also opened up a whole new option for her. Between assisting Professor Videl with lesson plans and grading papers and years of basically leading their study group, she was really starting to be able to see herself teaching one day. Maybe even at Greendale. After getting some distance first, of course.

Fingers pressing gently against the small of her back startled her out of her reverie. Behind her, Videl had his hand against her back, guiding her ahead of him through the lunch line. She stepped forward, putting just a bit more distance between them. She was sure Videl didn't mean to make her uncomfortable. He seemed well-meaning and she didn't want to offend by bringing it up. She could suck it up and get through one semester of occasional weirdness if it meant a guaranteed recommendation letter.

She took her tray to the cashier and went to hand over her debit card just as Videl was reaching across her with his own card in hand. "Let me pay," he said with a smile. "I know what the TAs get paid and it's pretty pathetic. It's the least I can do."

"I really appreciate that but no, thank you," Annie said, politely returning his smile. She held her card out for the lunch lady to take. "Call me pigheaded, but I enjoy paying for myself."

"Please, Miss Edison," he put his hand over hers and gently pushed it away, continuing to reach over her. "I insist." His card had already been swiped before she could think of another way to politely say no.

She jerked her hand away from his and mumbled a quick thank you before hurrying off to find someone – anyone – to sit with. Lucky for her, Jeff already had a table saved for them. She took her seat quickly, her back to the lunch line.

"Hey, sorry I'm so late," she said, pointedly ignoring her professor as he walked past them, headed back to his office with his food. "Videl held me back a little longer than usual."

"Did he now?"

Annie really looked at Jeff for the first time since she'd sat down. He was watching her from across the table, his eyes serious. "What?" she asked.

"You can tell me if he's making you uncomfortable. We can go to the Dean about it."

She was shaking her head before he had even finished speaking. "No, it's fine. There's nothing to go to the Dean about."

Jeff narrowed his eyes at her disbelievingly. "You sure looked like you were trying to get away from him just now."

"He just has a hard time switching between thinking of me as co-worker and thinking of me as a student," she explained quickly. "He acts more familiar with me than I'd like, but it's nothing I can't handle."

Jeff stared over her shoulder at the doorway that Videl had disappeared through, his jaw set. A fierce debate seemed to be raging inside his head. "If you're sure," he finally said. "Just promise to let me know if he steps out of line."

"If it makes you feel better, then yes, I promise. But I can take care of myself. I took –"

"Four years of jiu jitsu," he finished for her. "I know."

They'd had this discussion before. It was difficult having him distrust her boss this much. It was hard to ignore the way his frustration with Videl seemed to seep into so much of their conversations lately, but he had kept his word for the most part. It had been her choice to take this job and he was respecting that. He just couldn't help being a worrywart.

"What are you smiling about?"

Annie blinked herself back to reality. She hadn't even realized she'd been smiling. "I'm just thinking about how cute you are when you're all overprotective."

Jeff's lips curled up towards a cocky grin. "Cute, huh? I guess I'll take it."

She leaned forward, her elbows on the table between them. "You'd prefer something else?"

"Ruggedly handsome usually does the trick," he said, his elbows on the table as well, "but I can live with cute."

Annie grinned. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Shirley was headed for Jeff and Annie's table when she caught sight of their expressions. It looked like they were in the middle of a pretty serious debate. She quickly changed course and found an empty table nearby; far enough away that she wasn't intruding, but close enough that she could observe in secret. So what if she was a little nosy? It never hurt anyone.

"Why are you sitting over here?"

Shirley looked away from Jeff and Annie's table. Troy and the others were all standing beside her, trays in hand.

"You don't seriously still have a problem with Jeff and Annie, do you?" Britta asked in frustration, her expression annoyed.

Shirley bristled at the accusation and straightened up in her seat, her nose in the air. "They looked like they were in the middle of something. I wasn't going to interrupt."

"Oh," Troy said, turning to glance at the couple in question before taking a seat beside Shirley so that he could watch them, too. "I wonder what they're fighting about."

Shirley should have corrected him, she almost did, but something made her stop. It hadn't looked like Jeff and Annie were arguing exactly. It had just seemed like an important conversation.

"They don't seem to be fighting now," Abed observed, taking his usual seat beside Troy.

"Ah, the lover's spat," Pierce said as he slid into the booth across from Shirley. "They come and go so quickly."

Britta glanced at Jeff and Annie's table before sitting down with the rest of the group. "Can we maybe just leave them alone?"

Conversation at the table moved on to other subjects. Abed was off on some tirade about the new _Inspector Spacetime_ special. Shirley wouldn't have been able to follow even if she had been paying attention, so she fully committed to her spying.

Jeff and Annie were seated across from each other, smiles on their faces. Their little 'spat' must be over then. They each were leaned slightly forward with their elbows on the table. It was strange how they almost seemed to unconsciously mirror each other. They behaved more like a couple that had been together for years rather than months and Shirley guessed that made sense. They'd been friends for years. She hated to admit that they were actually kind of cute together and they did seem happy, but something about it being Jeff and Annie just didn't compute for her. Maybe Annie was right and she'd warm up to them, but right now she couldn't bring herself to think past that cast on Jeff's arm. It was a bright white reminder of how volatile he could be. They'd all laughed it off in the past, but after he'd snapped at Annie on the first day of school she'd stopped laughing. She didn't think he was violent, exactly. He'd never hit anyone without physical provocation before, but the idea was still a little worrying. He'd been so standoffish since school started, almost isolating himself from them. It was hard to tell how she felt about any of it. She'd mentioned her concerns to Britta, hoping for answers, but all she'd said was that there were 'insinuating' circumstances. (Bless her heart.)

"Hey," Britta said with a snap of her fingers, interrupting Shirley's thoughts. "Quit staring at them."

"I'm not staring. I was just trying to figuring something out."

Britta followed her eyeline and glared. "You're still on that? I told you –"

"Extenuating circumstances. I know." Shirley sighed and turned her attention to the food on her plate. She popped a now cold brussels sprout into her mouth, chewing slowly, still lost in her own head. She couldn't begin to imagine what kind of circumstances would have to exist for Britta to overlook the concerns they'd had just three short weeks ago. It had to be something big.

* * *

"Your hand is _fine_ ," Annie repeated for the hundredth time that morning. She knew the rest of the study group had to be just as sick of this discussion as she was. Over the weekend she'd gone with Jeff to get his cast removed for the sole purpose of keeping him honest, but as she and the rest of study room F were learning, even eye witnesses couldn't keep Jeff Winger from trying to manipulate the situation in his favor.

"Yes, but how do you _know_ ," Jeff argued, a giant shit-eating grin on his face. "The doctor said I _should_ be fine, not that I was fine. And he also said not to do anything too strenuous. Cornwallis' notes are nothing if not strenuous."

Annie kept her eyes on her textbook, pretending to read. "I'm not taking notes for you when _your hand is fine_."

"But it's my hand. So, I should know if it's fine or not."

Jeff may be good at arguing, but she was good at resisting. He took a breath to keep talking but she cut him off. "You might as well save your breath because I'm not doing it. Ask someone else if you're really that desperate."

Jeff turned to the rest of the table expectantly and Annie tried not to laugh at the dirty looks they shot her way.

"Oh, look at that," Troy said, glancing down at his bare wrist before snatching up his school books. "I'm late for bein' early. Gotta run!" He was out the door before Jeff could object, Abed hot on his heels.

Jeff turned towards Shirley, smiling sweetly. The tension between them had yet to fully dissipate, but even as stubborn as Shirley was, helpfulness was in her nature and fighting it was hard. She hesitated a moment, looking torn, before glancing up at the door Troy and Abed has disappeared through. "What was that, Troy?" she called out, obviously responding to no one, "I'll be right there!" she hopped to her feet, purse in hand, and powerwalked to the exit. "See you in class!"

"Pierce?" Jeff started to ask and then dismissively waved him off, seeming to think better of it.

"Wise choice," Pierce chuckled, settling back in his chair to watch the show as Jeff turned to his final option.

Jeff sighed. "Britta?"

"No dice," she replied with a smug smile. "If you wanna graduate so bad then you're gonna have to do the work yourself. Imagine that."

Annie grinned triumphantly while Jeff glared at Britta. She loved winning against him. Taking him down a few pegs could always brighten her day. Jeff turned his withering look on her but she just smiled back in response.

"Fine," he said to her as he got to his feet and gathered up all his things. "But when I end up with nerve damage in my hand I'm blaming you."

"I'll take that risk."

"Fine," he repeated. "And since you're the one making me take notes, I'm sure you won't mind if I steal your pen!" He lunged forward and snatched her purple gel grip pen off the table in front of her and took off towards Cornwallis' class, leaving her behind.

"Wha – Hey!" Annie gasped. She grabbed her backpack and rushed after him, leaving Britta and Pierce alone in the study room. Jeff easily outpaced her as she chased him all the way to their classroom. He'd not only stolen her pen but he'd run out the clock. Class would be starting any second. There was no time to get her property back. She could only glare while he basked in his success.

Halfway through class, she glanced over at Jeff who was busy taking notes with her stolen pen. When he noticed her watching him he winced dramatically and clutched at his hand, letting the pen fall to the desk. He looked up at her and poked out his bottom lip in a vain attempt at replicating her 'Disney face'. She had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

He finally relinquished her pen to her with a toothy smile when he was walking her to her next class. She couldn't even pretend to be mad. It was indescribable how much his good mood was affecting her. Not just _his_ good mood, _everyone's_. Study group hadn't felt that normal all semester. It was refreshing. No, it was better than that. It was relieving. Everything would finally be back to normal soon enough.

She was in such good spirits that when they reached her classroom she didn't even think. She just threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Annie!"

The sudden bark of Videl's stern voice made her remember where she was. Oops. She stepped guiltily away from Jeff, her face red. "Sorry," she quickly apologized.

When she looked up, Videl and Jeff were almost toe to toe, Videl inside the classroom, Jeff still standing in the hallway. For the first time since she'd started this class, she could see the man that Jeff saw when he looked at her boss and she didn't like it. He didn't just look like eccentric weirdo with personal space issues anymore; he looked dangerous.

"This is my classroom, Mr. Winger," Videl said coldly. "Unless you're planning on adding forensics to your course load I would suggest you move along."

Jeff's jaw tensed. He looked like he very much wished he could give him a piece of his mind but Videl was a teacher and Jeff knew better. He turned to Annie. "I'll see you at lunch," he said, speaking loudly enough for Videl to hear, too. It was like a warning.

As soon as Jeff turned to go Videl ducked back into the classroom, leaving Annie standing in the hallway alone. She wanted to go after Jeff but as soon as she'd had the thought, Videl called her name again in obvious irritation. "Annie."

She kept her head down as she stepped into the classroom and took a seat a few rows further back than usual. All the weirdness she'd felt for weeks was suddenly converging on her now, leaving her with a deeply unsettled feeling in her gut. Jeff had been right all along and now she was in way over her head, jiu jitsu or not.

Class was torture. Slow and painful. She tried not to squirm every time she felt Videl's eyes on her. She didn't look up from her notes the whole lecture, refusing to look him in the eye. She would leave class as soon as they were dismissed and go straight to Jeff, just like she promised she would. There's no way she could keep taking this class now.

She was at the door, almost free, when Videl called out to her. "Annie, wait." With a sudden sickening feeling, she realized that until today, he had never called her by her first name. It had always been 'Miss Edison'. Something about that felt dangerous.

"Do you have those papers graded yet?" he asked.

She had forgotten that those were due back today. Her backpack suddenly felt like it was made of lead. She could lie and say she didn't have them, but what if he got mad? The anxious, icky feeling in the pit of her stomach pulsed and she had to quickly compose her expression before turning in his direction. She reached into her bag and handed over the folder of papers to him, keeping her eyes down.

"Professor –"

"Please, call me Eric."

Annie almost had to physically choke back her revulsion. No, thank you. "Professor," she repeated, her tone bolder than she felt, "I really need to get going. If that's all you need from me –"

"Actually," he interrupted again, "I was hoping to speak to you. About Mr. Winger."

Her eyes snapped to his for the first time all day. Jeff?

"I couldn't help but notice your… Interaction before class. And he always seems to be following you around. I guess I just wanted to let you know that if he's bothering you, you can tell me. I could make sure that he leaves you alone."

She blinked at him for a long moment. "Jeff's my boyfriend," she finally said. "He isn't bothering me."

The silence between them crackled with his unspoken anger. "I see," was all he finally said.

"I have to go now." Annie didn't know what else to do or say. She just turned and double-timed it towards the cafeteria. She thought she would be free as soon as she hit the hallway, but she could hear his footsteps behind her. He was following her. Maybe he didn't mean for it to be scary, but it very much was. She'd gotten used to feeling unsafe when she'd been living above Dildopolis, but she'd never felt unsafe on campus before. This was a whole new experience and one she was not eager to have again. The sooner she got to her friends the better.

"You're going to quit, aren't you?"

Annie looked over as Videl stepped up beside her, his long legs catching up to her as they reached the cafeteria. "What?"

"Jeff told you to quit. That's why you're acting like this." He reached out and took her wrist, forcing her to a stop. "I meant what I said, if he's bossing you around –"

"Let go," she commanded. "This has nothing to do with him."

Videl stepped closer to her, her wrist still in his tight grip. "Your little study group is infamous among the teaching staff, you know," he said, his voice low. "You can do so much better than Jeff Winger. If it's older men you like –"

"No," she interrupted. She wanted to get away from him, but he still had her trapped. She allowed her arm to relax, waiting until she felt his fingers loosen before quickly twisting her arm and jerking away, breaking his hold. "Let go!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the windows.

The cafeteria went silent and all eyes turned to them. They suddenly had an audience.


	8. Chapter 8

7

Jeff was seated in a booth in the cafeteria, crammed between Pierce and Abed, his back to the student lounge. Normally he would have complained about the lack of elbow room, but he was more than a little distracted today. Surely Annie wasn't going to stay behind with that jerk after what had happened before class.

"There you are!"

Jeff looked up from his lunch tray to find a man in blue coveralls standing at the head of their table, his hands on his hips, eyes narrowed. Jeff glanced to his left and right, then back up at the man. "Me?" he asked.

"Yes, you. The guy who stole my ladder."

Jeff felt his forehead crease. "I did what now?"

"Who borrows a ladder and doesn't return it?"

Jeff looked the man over again. He was one of the school's janitors. Jeff had seen him around campus. His name was Jerry according to his nametag, but it wasn't ringing any bells. "I don't remember –"

"Of course you don't," Jerry said, cutting him off before turning his attention to Troy. "You're friends with this guy?" he asked incredulously. Troy looked back at Jerry with wide-eyed surprise, holding up his hands in confused surrender.

"I'm sorry," Jeff said, cutting back into the conversation, "I'm not following. When did I –"

"And another thing!" Jerry interrupted angrily. "Who borrows a ladder, but instead of returning it, just leaves it leaning up against the library roof? That's not just inconsiderate, that's dangerous! What if someone had gone up there?" He pointed back and forth between Jeff and Troy. "You're both on my shit list, you got that?" He turned his back and stormed away, muttering to himself about disrespectful students.

Jeff caught Britta's eye for just a moment before watching Jerry leave. He more or less remembered needing the ladder now.

"Why is he mad at _me_?" Troy asked.

Jeff turned back to the table, concentrating hard. "I _think_ I name-dropped you to get him to trust me…"

"Well, thanks! They already think I'm a traitor for going to the A/C repair school and now this? They control the bathrooms, man!"

"Why did you need a ladder?" Abed asked.

Jeff was too busy trying to remember tracking Jerry down to really think about his answer before he gave it. "I guess I used it to get on the roof."

Underneath the table, a shoe collided hard against Jeff's shin but not before it loudly glanced off one of the table's metal support beams. All eyes went to Britta and Jeff glared. Maybe he'd slipped up but he could have covered. Now she'd made them both look extra suspicious.

Everyone glanced between them, sensing the tension. "And you were on the roof because…" Pierce prompted.

"Um." Jeff had to come up with a lie. Something that made sense to cover his ass.

"Jeff?" Shirley asked.

He stared at Britta for a long moment, his mind working, before he turned to Shirley with resolve. Britta had tried so hard to keep his secret and truth be told he was grateful, but there was no real point in hiding it anymore. He could deflect and lie and talk circles around them all until they forgot what they were even supposed to be asking him, but why? It wouldn't change anything. "Seemed as good a place as any to drink myself into a coma," he stated calmly.

There was a long pause as people caught up with what he was saying. He watched as they put it all together, figuring out where he had disappeared to the night he'd gone to the hospital.

"You meant to drink that much?" Troy asked.

"You weren't –" Shirley began haltingly. "You didn't go up there to jump, did you?"

"That wasn't the plan, no," Jeff answered carefully.

"Then what was the plan?" she asked.

Jeff's eyes found Britta's again.

"Don't look at her. Answer me," Shirley said, snapping her fingers at him until he turned his eyes back to her. "That was a really dumb thing to do, Jeff. What if you had fallen?"

No reason to hold back now. If they wanted to ask, then he would answer. "Then that would've made my decision for me."

Another pause. Jeff looked around at all of their wide-eyed expressions. "Don't look at me like that." He didn't want their pity, he didn't want their anger either, even if he did deserve it. He was just tired of the secrets. He wanted all of it out in the open.

"What about Annie?" Troy accused. "Don't you care about her?"

"Troy, stop," Britta said quickly, but Troy ignored her.

"Does she know?"

"She knows," Jeff answered.

"You said you wouldn't hurt her." It was Pierce's turn weigh in. Jeff dropped his eyes to the table.

"I told you guys," Britta cut in again, trying her best to de-escalate the situation. "Extenuating circumstances. Now drop it."

But Jeff didn't want to drop it. It was out there now. If they dropped it then all of their anger would just build up again. Just let them get it all out now. But not before he'd said his piece. He was going to speak his mind this time. "Look, it was a mistake that I can barely remember making," he said, his voice stern as his eyes moved from face to face, looking everyone in the eye. "You can't understand how sorry I am that any of it happened, but I can't change it now. I know you'll never believe me, and that's okay, but I do care about Annie and I won't hurt her. Not again. I love –"

"Let go!"

A woman's shouted command rang out from behind them, echoing through the now silent cafeteria and Jeff's heart stopped dead. He knew that voice. He twisted around in his seat and felt his whole world reeling. Annie stood in the middle of the cafeteria, her wrist clutched against her chest. She was glaring daggers at Professor Videl who stood across from her, glaring right back.

"Perhaps we should continue this in private," Videl muttered from between his teeth, attempting to hide his frustration behind a manufactured smile. He gestured at the doorway behind him.

"No," Annie said, her voice firm and defiant.

Jeff didn't hesitate. He had scrambled out from between Pierce and Abed before they even registered it, climbing up and over the back of the booth, his eyes on Annie.

Videl extended his hand towards her, reaching to grab her arm but Jeff intercepted, stepping between them like a human wall. "She said 'no'."

"This doesn't concern you," Videl said, keeping his voice low.

Jeff clenched his fists, glowering down at the professor. "Oh, it very much does."

Videl sneered, his eyes flicking to Jeff's hands. "Careful, Mr. Winger. Wouldn't want it to appear as if you were threatening a teacher. I believe that would be grounds for expulsion."

Jeff slowly, deliberately unclenched his fists, taking a steadying breath. He glanced behind him at Annie. She was staring up at him, her blue eyes wide. She looked a little freaked out but otherwise unharmed. That calmed him down a little, helped him think. He needed to get her away from here. "Come on," he said, placing his hand protectively against her back, keeping his body between her and Videl as he lead her past him. They would go straight to the Dean, just like he'd told her they would. Greendale could be a messed-up place sometimes, but not like this. There was no way the Dean would let this happen.

"I can see the attraction," Videl whispered to Jeff as they passed. "The schoolgirl thing, right? So young and submissive. Makes you feel powerful –"

There was a half second delay between Videl speaking and Jeff swinging. His fist made contact with Videl's jaw. Hard. He felt his knuckle pop upon impact but ignored it as Videl stumbled backwards, collapsing onto the hard tile floor.

Jeff stood there a moment before he swore under his breath, gently shaking out his hand as spikes of pain shot up his arm. He was pretty sure he'd just broken his hand. Again.

"Jeffery!"

Jeff groaned as he turned around and it had nothing to with his throbbing hand. Of all the people to have witnessed his uncharacteristic act of violence, of course it was Dean Pelton. Poetic Justice and all that.

"Did you just hit a teacher?" the Dean rushed to Videl's side, patting him gently on the cheek, trying to rouse him. Videl was out. "Someone get the nurse!" the Dean snapped at the gathering crowd before turning his attention back to Jeff.

"You know I've got no choice now. I have to call the police. I have to expel you!"

Jeff squared his shoulders. "Go ahead. But you had better get rid of him, too."

The Dean looked taken aback. He glanced from Videl to Jeff. "What?"

"We can ask the cops when they get here, but I'm pretty sure that assault and sexual harassment are not only against school policy, but also illegal."

The Dean blinked at him for several long seconds. "Assault –"

"He had better be out of here, Dean. I'm not kidding," Jeff warned, his anger boiling beneath his even tone. "I may not be a practicing lawyer anymore but I know plenty who are. They'd love a nice open and shut case like this."

"Open and shut?" Pelton asked.

Jeff placed a protective hand against Annie's shoulder, drawing her close to him. "The whole cafeteria just saw a member of your faculty grab a female student against her will, sounds pretty open and shut to me."

"Annie?" the Dean asked. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Annie answered, her voice small. She glanced nervously over her shoulder at Videl who was currently being roused by the nurse. "Jeff was just trying to defend me. Ask anyone here."

Dean Pelton stood still for a long moment before pointing at the exit behind them. "My office, both of you. Wait for me there."

Jeff kept his arm around Annie and quickly lead the way to the Dean's office, anxious to get away from the cafeteria before Videl could wake up. Another outburst from him would do nothing to help their case and Annie was starting to look more shell-shocked by the second.

Once they reached Pelton's office, Jeff shut the door behind them and made Annie take a seat on the couch. He pulled a chair up to sit right in front of her, attempting to calm her. She was pale and trembling but she didn't even seem to realize it yet.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently. He was worried that she might be going into shock.

"I got you expelled," she said and her wide, worried eyes finally focusing on him.

"No, I got me expelled. Are you okay?"

"But you were supposed to graduate this semester!" she continued, her voice rising in alarm.

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. _Are you okay_?"

"But –"

" _Annie_!"

He managed to startle her out of it. She blinked at him for a long moment before finally answering. "I'm fine."

He looked her over again, double checking. "Are you sure? You're shaking."

She looked down at herself in surprise and quickly crossed her arms over her torso like she could hold herself steady. "I'm fine," she repeated. "It's probably just adrenaline. Give me a second."

He waited until some color had returned to her cheeks before asking, "What did he do?"

She squeezed her arms tighter around herself. "Nothing really. He just all of the sudden started to seem dangerous and I don't think he liked that I noticed. I was on my way to get you when he stopped me –"

Jeff gasped involuntarily as pain shot through his arm, radiating from his knuckles. He'd clenched his fists without meaning to. He'd been so distracted that he'd forgotten about his hand.

"Oh my God!" Annie said, immediately reaching out for him. "Let me see."

He gingerly offered her his hand, wincing slightly as his fingers shifted. She gently probed along his knuckles, studying his hand closely. Her cool fingers felt nice against the places that were already beginning to swell.

"I'll go get you some ice," she said as she got to her feet, but he stopped her, gently pulling her back down onto the couch.

"I wish you wouldn't," he said. "You don't have to be Nurse Edison right now. I'm fine."

"You're not fine. I'm pretty sure your hand is broken again."

He smiled ruefully, the pins and needles sensation growing harder to ignore by the second. "I can pretty much guarantee that it is." His doctor was going to murder him.

She turned her attention from his hand to his face, her eyes serious. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Probably not," he agreed. When she frowned at him he grinned. "But it was worth it."

"How can you say that?" she asked.

He opened his mouth to explain but was interrupted by the office door banging open.

"Professor Videl is fine, in case you were wondering," the Dean announced pointedly as he crossed the room to his desk.

"We weren't," Jeff replied coolly.

The Dean shot him a look before gesturing for them to take their seats at the front of his desk. Jeff rolled his eyes. He got up and dragged his chair back to its place, offering it to Annie before taking the empty one beside her.

"I've spoken to the students in the cafeteria," the Dean said, turning his attention to Annie as she settled into her seat. "Now I need to hear your side of the story."

Annie's fingers curled around the hem of her skirt, fidgeting with the fabric, and Jeff had to resist the urge to reach for her. "I was just getting weird vibes from him in class," she explained. "I'm his TA so we work together after class most days but today I left early. He followed me to the lunchroom and got mad because he thought I was quitting. He accused Jeff of making me quit. I tried to walk away and that's when he grabbed me. He was trying to grab me again when Jeff stepped in."

The Dean leaned forward against his desk. Jeff had never seen him look so professional. "What happened in class today that made you so uncomfortable?" he asked.

Annie shifted in her seat. "It didn't happen in class, and it wasn't just today. It's been building towards this for weeks. He seemed fine at first but then he started doing stuff like watching from the doorway when Jeff would walk me to class and paying for my lunch when I specifically told him not to. I thought all of the interest he expressed about my personal life was just chit-chat between co-workers until today when he started grilling me about Jeff. He got mad when I told him Jeff was my boyfriend. He implied that if I liked older guys then I might be interested in him instead."

Jeff was seething but the Dean just nodded. "Thank you," he said before turning to Jeff. "I can see how that might have upset you, but that's no excuse for violence." Upset him? That was putting it mildly. "If there was a problem you should have come to me about it instead of taking things into your own hands."

"Well, it's not exactly like I _meant_ to hit him," Jeff said. "We were on our way to your office but he was egging me on. He wanted to get me in trouble. He'd already threatened to expel me twice."

The Dean sighed and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. "Professor Videl denies anything inappropriate happened but apologizes for any accidental misunderstanding he may have caused."

Jeff made an indignant sound in the back of his throat and the Dean held up his hands, palms out. "Student testimony supports your story," he continued, replacing his glasses and folding his hands in front of him on the desk. "So, he's been put on administrative leave while the situation is under investigation and you're welcome to file a formal complaint with the school board."

Annie nodded. "Thank you."

"As for you, Jeffery," the Dean sighed, "hitting a teacher is still a major offense. You're lucky he isn't pressing charges. Given the circumstances, I might be able to provide some leniency for the time being, but ultimately it's up to the school board." He looked torn. Jeff knew the Dean favored him but he couldn't openly side with him this time. Not without risking his job at least. "I'm sorry but I have to suspend you. The board will decide if further action is required after the investigation."

Jeff nodded, taking a moment to let that sink it. He guessed it was fair. Getting suspended and quite probably expelled hurt, but he couldn't bring himself to really regret it. He could feel Annie's eyes on him. She was watching him closely, waiting for the fallout. The sudden derailment of his four-year plan this close to the finish line was a disappointing blow for sure, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't a crushing one. There were worse things in life. He would survive this.

He got to his feet and held out his uninjured hand for Annie to take, leading her out into the hallway. He guessed he had better get out of here and not just because his hand was on fire. He was technically no longer permitted on school grounds. How strange. He'd been expelled before, of course, but last time the whole group had been in the same boat with him. It had been like an unwanted family vacation. Now he was the only one being evicted, the only one not allowed to come home. Not that they would even notice his absence.

He started towards the parking lot and Annie walked along beside him, watching him like a hawk. "Are you okay?" she asked. Jeff looked down at her anxious face and felt laughter suddenly bubbling up from his chest. He couldn't seem to help it.

"What?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. She didn't get what was so funny and that only made him laugh harder. She grabbed onto the sleeve of his sweater, pulling him to a stop. " _What_?"

"You're so concerned," he managed, grinning at her expression. Her jaw set in anger but he shook his head. She didn't get it yet. He wasn't laughing at her. Not exactly. "No, no, I mean, you're the one who was assaulted for Christ's sake and you're worried about _me_! I should be the one making sure you're okay, not the other way around!"

"I don't get why that's funny."

He grinned down at her and his heart felt light for the first time in weeks. "You're ridiculous, you know that?" he said as he bent to press his lips lightly to her hair. "In the best, most perfect way possible."

When he straightened up, he brushed his thumb against her cheek, looking deep into her eyes. "My turn now: Are _you_ okay?" She nodded against his hand in answer. "You're sure?" he asked again.

This time she rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jeff," she said, jokingly exasperated.

"Glad to hear it. Means I'm not a _total_ tool if I get on to you for calling me paranoid. I'm not saying I told you so, but –"

She smacked him gently on the chest, a smile on her face. "Jerk."

He swooped in, capturing her laugh with his lips. He stepped forward and closed the distance between them, using his good hand to hold her to him, his sudden euphoria making him bold.

"Ooo-ooo," a chorus of voices cooed from down the hall.

His moment of joy came to a screeching halt as he looked up at the five faces of his study group assembled in front of them, watching him put his lips on Annie. He jumped away from her like she was made of steam, burning him where he got too close. He let his eyes drop, already mentally berating himself for his lapse in judgement when the sound of their laughter made his brain whir to a sudden stop. When he looked up at them again they were all giggling.

"Don't let us interrupt," Shirley laughed. She sounded genuine. He didn't understand.

"You're not interrupting," Annie responded. Aside from the slight blush that was coloring her cheeks she was completely unfazed, like this was normal.

The group gathered around them as if this were any other day, as if getting caught kissing Annie was an everyday occurrence. He didn't get a single dirty look.

"Are you expelled?" Britta asked him.

He took a moment to respond, his mind still rebooting. "Not yet. Just suspended for now. Professor Vile is under investigation."

To his astonishment they all laughed at his joke. He was being _Punk'd_. Or he'd somehow stepped through a worm hole, landing in some parallel universe.

"That was some punch," Pierce congratulated, clapping him roughly on the back. "I bet it was worth it!"

"You have no idea."

"Aren't you glad we taught you to fight?" Troy asked, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet with his fists held up.

"You apparently didn't teach him very well," Annie reprimanded jokingly. "He broke his hand again."

"Then we'll just have to give you another lesson," Troy said as he aimed a few fake jabs at Jeff's gut.

"Order of priority should probably be hospital first, then fighting lessons," Annie said. "He might lose a hand if we wait much longer."

Jeff grimaced and held up his swollen appendage as evidence. It was turning purple.

"Goodness! Then we should get going," Shirley said, herding the group towards the building's exit. No one objected.

Jeff looked around at the group in bewilderment as they all followed her lead without question. "What?" he asked, but his question got lost in the crossfire of conversation. They pushed through the double doors, clumping together on the sidewalk outside the administration building.

"I'll take Jeff," Annie announced to the group, fishing her keys out of her bag. "I'm going to pull my car around," she said to Jeff, "Will you be okay to wait here?"

"You know my legs aren't broken, right?"

She responded with an irritated look.

"I can wait with him," Abed offered, placating her anger. She nodded in approval.

"Who needs a ride?" Shirley asked, waving her keys in the air as she headed towards her minivan.

"Me!" Troy answered, quickly loping after her with Britta at his heels.

"I'm old, not disabled! I can drive myself," Pierce protested, moving off in the direction of his own vehicle.

"Meet you at the emergency room!" Annie called to the others as they split ways, leaving Jeff and Abed alone on the sidewalk.

"What the hell was that?" Jeff muttered to himself as he watched their retreat. He still hadn't quite caught up.

"You won their approval," Abed answered simply.

"Huh?"

"You defended Annie even though you knew it could cost you your degree," he explained. "An inherently selfless act. Even you can't talk your way out of this one. You were willing to sacrifice the thing that was most important to you, so in their eyes you proved yourself worthy of her."

Jeff took a long moment to let that sink in. All he'd wanted to do was help Annie. He'd just been doing what came naturally, making her a priority. Proving himself had been the last thing on his mind, but it didn't matter. He'd finally made the others see what he'd been trying to show them all along. "Abed," he finally said. "You're a shaman."

Abed's lips quirked towards the subtlest of smiles. "I think I've heard that before."

Jeff pulled him into a crushing one-armed hug as Annie pulled up to the curb. He couldn't even begin to explain the joy he was feeling. He had his family back. Broken bones and lost degrees be damned!

He climbed into the passenger seat and leaned over the armrest to kiss Annie, just because he could. "You good?" she asked, shooting him an odd look as he pulled away.

He gave her a wide, toothy grin as he settled back into his seat. "Never better."

* * *

They were all squished together on Jeff's couch, everyone talking and laughing at once. After Jeff had been released from the hospital with a newly re-plastered hand, they had all decided to come back to his place. Having everyone be together and in his apartment still felt a little surreal to him, but he didn't really mind it.

Everyone groaned at the sound of the pizza delivery guy knocking on the door. No one wanted to move, even for food.

"I'll get it," Annie volunteered, extracting herself from the pile on the couch. The space she left behind was quickly filled in by Abed and Pierce seeking a little extra elbow room.

When she returned she handed the pizza boxes off to Troy and Britta and took a seat in Jeff's lap. Jeff couldn't help the way his eyes flicked to his left to gauge the group's reaction. They were all too busy fighting over slices of pizza to notice. Pierce seemed to think it was okay to claim half of an entire box as his own and the others clearly disagreed.

"They really don't care," Annie assured him quietly, before shooting him a teasing smile. "I could go sit on Troy's lap if you don't want me to sit here."

Jeff rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. "I'd rather you didn't"

"Aw! That's nice!" Shirley cooed at them, apparently having witnessed their exchange. "You guys are so cute!"

"What makes them cute?" Abed asked as he reached across her for another slice.

"Two good-looking white people," she explained with a half shrug. "What's not to like?"

"Hang on," Britta interjected, "That's what you said about Jeff and me, too!"

"That doesn't make it not true about Jeff and Annie."

"But –"

"Hey, Jeff!" Troy cut in, "Can I sign your cast?"

Jeff looked down and the blank white expanse of his new cast then back up at Troy's earnest face. "Uh, sure, if you want to."

"Me, too!" Annie cheered, hopping off his lap and rushing for her school bag. She dug around for a moment before producing and array of colorful markers. "I've got Sharpies."

Everyone scrambled from the couch and grabbed a marker before crowding around him, vying for space.

"How come no one signed my casts when I broke my legs?" Pierce complained into the mass.

"You wouldn't let us," Britta answered.

"I don't remember that."

"You don't remember what you had for breakfast," Jeff said with a smirk, eliciting a poorly concealed snicker from Troy.

"Jerk," Pierce grumbled as he leaned over Jeff, marker in hand. "Just for that I'm drawing a wiener."

Britta shoved her way to the front and reached for Jeff's cast. "What is this?" she goaded softly, "The third grade?"

He shot her a small, crooked smile. "Juice boxes will be passed out any minute now."

After they had all signed his cast and admired their handiwork, they settled back into party mode, one again piled onto the couch.

"What should we do now?" Troy asked. "Board games?"

"No board games," Jeff said, shutting that idea down before it had the chance to get off the ground.

"I agree. Nothing with dice," Abed said.

"Netflix?" Troy suggested.

"What should we watch?" Annie asked, picking up the remote control.

Britta snatched the controller away from her and quickly started navigating the Netflix menus. "There's this really eye-opening documentary on the cruelty of the meat industry and –"

The group let out a collective groan.

"Geez, fine," Britta said, tossing the remote back at Annie. "Enjoy being sheeple."

Annie caught the remote and glanced teasingly at Jeff. "What about _Gilmore Girls_?"

Now it was his turn to snatch the remote from her. "Uh, no," Jeff said, feeling his cheeks flush despite himself. "How about _The Office_?"

The group made a noise of agreement.

"Season one, episode one, then?" he asked.

"No!" they all groaned and Jeff raised his eyebrows at them.

"Uh, have you ever actually watched _The Office_ , Jeff?" Troy questioned. "Everyone knows you skip season one."

"Season one sucks," Abed said, taking the remote from Jeff and clicking on season two. "Maybe I should be in charge of Netflix parties from now on."

The group made another noise of agreement and Jeff huffed. "Whatever."

The episode started and he settled back against the couch, Annie still in his lap. "You're going to pay for that _Gilmore Girls_ comment," he whispered, his eyes teasing.

"Looking forward to it," she replied, stifling her laughter behind her hand.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Pierce called from the other end of the couch. "Do you two wanna be quiet? We're trying to watch a program."

"Sorry, Pierce," Annie giggled, settling back against Jeff's chest and turning her attention to the TV screen.

Jeff smiled and it had nothing to with Michael Scott or the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Three years ago, when he'd forced himself to sign up for community college, he'd thought Greendale was the worst thing he'd ever have to endure. He'd never once considered that it might be the best thing that could have happened to him. Now, seated on the couch with his surrogate family around him and the woman he loved in his lap, he couldn't imagine feeling happier. Just a few short weeks ago he'd thought that all of this had been lost to him and he'd never been happier to be wrong. He wrapped his arms around Annie and held her tight against him. Maybe he could stand to take a page from her book every once in a while and bring a bit more optimism to his life. Only a bit, though. No need to get crazy.

Annie turned to him and smiled like she knew exactly what he was thinking. Her smile always had the ability to make him forget to be negative. Yeah, maybe a little more optimism would do him some good.


End file.
